Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Counties in Washington

Counties in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

King County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 39 counties in 2025, at 8,505. Garfield County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 229. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest8,505King County
Lowest0Garfield County
Median22939 counties

All counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

King CountyKing County: 8,505 count8,505Pierce CountyPierce County: 3,782 count3,782Snohomish CountySnohomish County: 3,372 count3,372Clark CountyClark County: 3,250 count3,250Spokane CountySpokane County: 2,976 count2,976Kitsap CountyKitsap County: 1,780 count1,780Thurston CountyThurston County: 1,669 count1,669Benton CountyBenton County: 1,663 count1,663Whatcom CountyWhatcom County: 1,214 count1,214Chelan CountyChelan County: 783 count783Franklin CountyFranklin County: 768 count768Yakima CountyYakima County: 713 count713Grant CountyGrant County: 431 count431Lewis CountyLewis County: 431 count431Skagit CountySkagit County: 373 count373Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County: 308 count308Douglas CountyDouglas County: 303 count303Clallam CountyClallam County: 293 count293Kittitas CountyKittitas County: 288 count288Okanogan CountyOkanogan County: 229 count229Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County: 224 count224Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 218 count218Island CountyIsland County: 209 count209Mason CountyMason County: 204 count204Stevens CountyStevens County: 196 count196Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla County: 163 count163Klickitat CountyKlickitat County: 102 count102San Juan CountySan Juan County: 81 count81Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 67 count67Pacific CountyPacific County: 64 count64Pend Oreille CountyPend Oreille County: 58 count58Skamania CountySkamania County: 55 count55Asotin CountyAsotin County: 37 count37Adams CountyAdams County: 33 count33Whitman CountyWhitman County: 26 count26Wahkiakum CountyWahkiakum County: 21 count21Ferry CountyFerry County: 19 count19Columbia CountyColumbia County: 5 count5Garfield CountyGarfield County: 0 count0
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
count		Change on 2024
1King County Estimated8,505-19.5%
2Pierce County Estimated3,782+17.9%
3Snohomish County Estimated3,372-18.7%
4Clark County Estimated3,250-9.6%
5Spokane County Estimated2,976-17.9%
6Kitsap County Estimated1,780+37.6%
7Thurston County Estimated1,669+36.6%
8Benton County Estimated1,663+9.8%
9Whatcom County Estimated1,214+2%
10Chelan County Estimated783+2.8%
11Franklin County Estimated768-21.1%
12Yakima County Estimated713+38.4%
13Grant County Estimated431-21.9%
13Lewis County Estimated431+62.6%
15Skagit County Estimated373-31.8%
16Cowlitz County Estimated308-12.7%
17Douglas County Estimated303+31.7%
18Clallam County Estimated293+76.5%
19Kittitas County Estimated288-33.6%
20Okanogan County Estimated229-6.9%
21Grays Harbor County Estimated224-22.2%
22Jefferson County Estimated218+48.3%
23Island County Estimated209-48%
24Mason County Estimated204-31.8%
25Stevens County Estimated196-41.5%
26Walla Walla County Estimated163-20.5%
27Klickitat County Estimated102+29.1%
28San Juan County Estimated81-19%
29Lincoln County Estimated67+42.6%
30Pacific County Estimated64-31.9%
31Pend Oreille County Estimated58+5.5%
32Skamania County Estimated55+57.1%
33Asotin County Estimated37-63.4%
34Adams County Estimated33-61.2%
35Whitman County Estimated26-40.9%
36Wahkiakum County Estimated21-8.7%
37Ferry County Estimated19-5%
38Columbia County Estimated5-28.6%
39Garfield County Estimated0-100%

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Final annual county estimates include imputation for missing reports. Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Covers permit-issuing areas; areas where permits are not required are outside the survey. Not seasonally adjusted or expressed as an annualized monthly rate. The total is the sum of units in the four published structure categories; inputs are retained.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/co2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Rank Counties in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?

King County, with 8,505 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?

Garfield County, with 0 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey: final annual county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Counties in Washington: more rankings