Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits

Seattle, WA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 91 cities in 2014, at 898. Shelton, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 61. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest898Seattle, WA

Lowest0Shelton, WA

Median6191 cities

Top 40 cities, 2014

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Cities	2014 count	Change on 2013
1	Seattle, WA Estimated	898	+9.2%
2	Auburn, WA Estimated	362	-16%
3	Lacey, WA Estimated	314	+47.4%
4	Kennewick, WA Estimated	302	-5%
5	Sammamish, WA Estimated	278	-2.1%
6	Tacoma, WA Estimated	261	+20.3%
7	Kirkland, WA Estimated	241	+2.6%
8	Bellevue, WA Estimated	235	+28.4%
9	Richland, WA Estimated	231	-7.6%
10	Spokane, WA Estimated	223	-30.5%
11	Pasco, WA Estimated	219	+6.8%
12	Redmond, WA Estimated	216	+31.7%
13	Renton, WA Estimated	215	-23.5%
14	Bonney Lake, WA Estimated	197	+42.8%
15	Issaquah, WA Estimated	189	+37%
15	Vancouver, WA Estimated	189	-30.5%
17	Kent, WA Estimated	180	-14.7%
18	Camas, WA Estimated	178	+40.2%
19	Snoqualmie, WA Estimated	173	+86%
20	Maple Valley, WA Estimated	159	+109.2%
21	Spokane Valley, WA Estimated	149	+18.3%
22	Olympia, WA Estimated	147	+3.5%
23	Lake Stevens, WA Estimated	146	+58.7%
24	Gig Harbor, WA Estimated	145	+55.9%
25	Everett, WA Estimated	140	+105.9%
26	Bellingham, WA Estimated	135	-6.3%
27	Yakima, WA Estimated	122	+67.1%
28	Tumwater, WA Estimated	120	-9.8%
29	Puyallup, WA Estimated	116	-8.7%
30	Mount Vernon, WA Estimated	114	-0.9%
31	Liberty Lake, WA Estimated	109	+3.8%
32	West Richland, WA Estimated	106	-19.7%
33	Bothell, WA Estimated	104	-31.6%
33	Ridgefield, WA Estimated	104	-41.2%
35	Marysville, WA Estimated	96	-44.2%
36	Moses Lake, WA Estimated	86	+10.3%
37	Walla Walla, WA Estimated	84	+58.5%
38	Battle Ground, WA Estimated	83	-5.7%
39	Washougal, WA Estimated	82	-20.4%
40	Federal Way, WA Estimated	77	-3.8%
41	Poulsbo, WA Estimated	75	-31.8%
42	Bremerton, WA Estimated	65	-38.7%
43	Ellensburg, WA Estimated	63	-20.3%
43	Mercer Island, WA Estimated	63	+12.5%
45	Ferndale, WA Estimated	62	-38.6%
46	Oak Harbor, WA Estimated	61	+13%
47	Burien, WA Estimated	57	+18.8%
48	Anacortes, WA Estimated	56	+47.4%
49	Kenmore, WA Estimated	51	-5.6%
49	Shoreline, WA Estimated	51	-17.7%
51	Newcastle, WA Estimated	50	+31.6%
51	University Place, WA Estimated	50	+66.7%
53	Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated	49	-49%
53	Port Orchard, WA Estimated	49	+16.7%
53	Pullman, WA Estimated	49	-29%
56	Lynden, WA Estimated	47	-14.5%
57	Edmonds, WA Estimated	46	+27.8%
58	Yelm, WA Estimated	45	-62.5%
59	Mill Creek, WA Estimated	42	-12.5%
60	Port Townsend, WA Estimated	37	+8.8%
60	Wenatchee, WA Estimated	37	-9.8%
62	Airway Heights, WA Estimated	35	+29.6%
62	Mukilteo, WA Estimated	35	-7.9%
64	Lynnwood, WA Estimated	34	+161.5%
65	Des Moines, WA Estimated	33	+73.7%
66	Port Angeles, WA Estimated	32	+113.3%
66	Snohomish, WA Estimated	32	+220%
68	Sunnyside, WA Estimated	29	-3.3%
69	Lakewood, WA Estimated	28	-45.1%
70	Edgewood, WA Estimated	23	-43.9%
70	Fife, WA Estimated	23	-23.3%
70	Woodinville, WA Estimated	23	+1,050%
73	Monroe, WA Estimated	22	-38.9%
74	Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated	18	-52.6%
75	Tukwila, WA Estimated	17	-10.5%
76	Enumclaw, WA Estimated	13	+225%
76	Longview, WA Estimated	13	-31.6%
78	Centralia, WA Estimated	11	+37.5%
78	Grandview, WA Estimated	11	-8.3%
78	Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated	11	-31.3%
81	Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated	9	-43.8%
82	Cheney, WA Estimated	8	-27.3%
83	Sumner, WA Estimated	4	-69.2%
84	Arlington, WA Estimated	3	-66.7%
84	Burlington, WA Estimated	3	0%
86	Kelso, WA Estimated	2	-50%
87	Aberdeen, WA Estimated	1	-66.7%
87	East Wenatchee, WA Estimated	1	-90.9%
87	SeaTac, WA Estimated	1	0%
90	Covington, WA Estimated	0	-100%
90	Shelton, WA Estimated	0	-100%

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures (detached and attached single-family homes) authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Part of building_permit_units, which also counts units in buildings with two or more units. Counts housing units, not starts, completions or sales.

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

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014. U.S. Census Bureau, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2016) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014}},
  year = {2016},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2014. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West\%20Region/we2014a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits, 2014
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/09/30
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2014a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which city has the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits?

Seattle, WA, with 898 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest single-family housing units authorized by building permits?

Shelton, WA, with 0 in 2014.

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 estimates of new privately owned housing units in 1-unit structures authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.