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

Counties in Washington by housing units authorized by building permits

King County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 39 counties in 2024, at 10,564. Garfield County had the lowest, at 7. The median was 288. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest10,564King County
Lowest7Garfield County
Median28839 counties

All counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

King CountyKing County: 10,564 count10,564Snohomish CountySnohomish County: 4,149 count4,149Spokane CountySpokane County: 3,626 count3,626Clark CountyClark County: 3,594 count3,594Pierce CountyPierce County: 3,207 count3,207Benton CountyBenton County: 1,515 count1,515Kitsap CountyKitsap County: 1,294 count1,294Thurston CountyThurston County: 1,222 count1,222Whatcom CountyWhatcom County: 1,190 count1,190Franklin CountyFranklin County: 974 count974Chelan CountyChelan County: 762 count762Grant CountyGrant County: 552 count552Skagit CountySkagit County: 547 count547Yakima CountyYakima County: 515 count515Kittitas CountyKittitas County: 434 count434Island CountyIsland County: 402 count402Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County: 353 count353Stevens CountyStevens County: 335 count335Mason CountyMason County: 299 count299Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County: 288 count288Lewis CountyLewis County: 265 count265Okanogan CountyOkanogan County: 246 count246Douglas CountyDouglas County: 230 count230Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla County: 205 count205Clallam CountyClallam County: 166 count166Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 147 count147Asotin CountyAsotin County: 101 count101San Juan CountySan Juan County: 100 count100Pacific CountyPacific County: 94 count94Adams CountyAdams County: 85 count85Klickitat CountyKlickitat County: 79 count79Pend Oreille CountyPend Oreille County: 55 count55Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 47 count47Whitman CountyWhitman County: 44 count44Skamania CountySkamania County: 35 count35Wahkiakum CountyWahkiakum County: 23 count23Ferry CountyFerry County: 20 count20Columbia CountyColumbia County: 7 count7Garfield CountyGarfield County: 7 count7
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
count		Change on 2023
1King County Estimated10,564-0.3%
2Snohomish County Estimated4,149+19%
3Spokane County Estimated3,626+0.1%
4Clark County Estimated3,594+2.7%
5Pierce County Estimated3,207+2.3%
6Benton County Estimated1,515+33.4%
7Kitsap County Estimated1,294-42.7%
8Thurston County Estimated1,222-19.2%
9Whatcom County Estimated1,190+33.1%
10Franklin County Estimated974+5.5%
11Chelan County Estimated762+141.9%
12Grant County Estimated552+25.7%
13Skagit County Estimated547+12.6%
14Yakima County Estimated515-20.8%
15Kittitas County Estimated434+4.8%
16Island County Estimated402+79.5%
17Cowlitz County Estimated353+14.6%
18Stevens County Estimated335+18.8%
19Mason County Estimated299+12.8%
20Grays Harbor County Estimated288+2.9%
21Lewis County Estimated265-18%
22Okanogan County Estimated246+7.4%
23Douglas County Estimated230-15.1%
24Walla Walla County Estimated205-25.5%
25Clallam County Estimated166-21.3%
26Jefferson County Estimated147-7%
27Asotin County Estimated101+134.9%
28San Juan County Estimated100+1%
29Pacific County Estimated94+16%
30Adams County Estimated85+49.1%
31Klickitat County Estimated79-21%
32Pend Oreille County Estimated55-11.3%
33Lincoln County Estimated47-43.4%
34Whitman County Estimated44-82.9%
35Skamania County Estimated35-42.6%
36Wahkiakum County Estimated23-14.8%
37Ferry County Estimated20-9.1%
38Columbia County Estimated7+250%
38Garfield County Estimated7+40%

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/co2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Questions

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

King County, with 10,564 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Garfield County, with 7 in 2024.

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