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 2017, at 593. Mukilteo, WA had the lowest, at 3. The median was 85. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest593Seattle, WA

Lowest3Mukilteo, WA

Median8591 cities

Top 40 cities, 2017

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	2017 count	Change on 2016
1	Seattle, WA Estimated	593	-25.6%
2	Pasco, WA Estimated	468	+20.9%
3	Bellevue, WA Estimated	373	+56.7%
4	Sammamish, WA Estimated	367	+27%
5	Spokane, WA Estimated	333	-9.8%
6	Kirkland, WA Estimated	328	+5.1%
7	Kent, WA Estimated	319	+60.3%
8	Richland, WA Estimated	271	0%
9	Everett, WA Estimated	261	+42.6%
10	Gig Harbor, WA Estimated	245	+27.6%
11	Camas, WA Estimated	235	+0.4%
12	Bellingham, WA Estimated	217	+11.3%
12	Kennewick, WA Estimated	217	-34%
14	Vancouver, WA Estimated	177	-44.5%
15	Lake Stevens, WA Estimated	167	-54.9%
16	Edgewood, WA Estimated	165	+194.6%
17	Lacey, WA Estimated	163	-51.3%
18	Bothell, WA Estimated	161	+8.1%
19	Mount Vernon, WA Estimated	159	+10.4%
19	Ridgefield, WA Estimated	159	-50.8%
21	Battle Ground, WA Estimated	153	+23.4%
22	Auburn, WA Estimated	139	-39.6%
22	Tacoma, WA Estimated	139	+13%
24	Liberty Lake, WA Estimated	138	-16.9%
25	Monroe, WA Estimated	132	-4.3%
26	Spokane Valley, WA Estimated	126	-30.4%
27	Issaquah, WA Estimated	125	-1.6%
28	Ferndale, WA Estimated	124	+69.9%
29	Renton, WA Estimated	122	-38.7%
29	Yakima, WA Estimated	122	-10.9%
31	Woodinville, WA Estimated	121	+764.3%
32	University Place, WA Estimated	118	+96.7%
33	Maple Valley, WA Estimated	117	+129.4%
33	Moses Lake, WA Estimated	117	+50%
33	Puyallup, WA Estimated	117	-10.7%
36	Bremerton, WA Estimated	112	+16.7%
37	Tumwater, WA Estimated	111	-0.9%
38	Poulsbo, WA Estimated	101	-27.9%
39	Olympia, WA Estimated	94	-49.2%
40	Ellensburg, WA Estimated	93	+13.4%
40	Redmond, WA Estimated	93	-50%
42	Arlington, WA Estimated	92	+475%
43	West Richland, WA Estimated	91	+1.1%
44	Shoreline, WA Estimated	90	+18.4%
45	Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated	88	-22.8%
46	Anacortes, WA Estimated	85	+13.3%
46	Covington, WA Estimated	85	+37.1%
48	Snoqualmie, WA Estimated	80	-12.1%
49	Lynden, WA Estimated	78	-2.5%
49	Mercer Island, WA Estimated	78	+11.4%
51	Marysville, WA Estimated	77	-36.4%
51	Port Orchard, WA Estimated	77	+48.1%
53	Kenmore, WA Estimated	74	-20.4%
54	Washougal, WA Estimated	73	-17%
55	Wenatchee, WA Estimated	61	-12.9%
56	Edmonds, WA Estimated	60	+11.1%
57	Burien, WA Estimated	58	-25.6%
58	Cheney, WA Estimated	55	+27.9%
59	Bonney Lake, WA Estimated	54	-32.5%
59	Pullman, WA Estimated	54	-10%
61	Port Townsend, WA Estimated	53	-37.6%
62	Federal Way, WA Estimated	52	+40.5%
62	Yelm, WA Estimated	52	-36.6%
64	Lakewood, WA Estimated	49	+69%
64	Newcastle, WA Estimated	49	-26.9%
66	Tukwila, WA Estimated	46	+43.8%
67	Des Moines, WA Estimated	45	+104.5%
67	Walla Walla, WA Estimated	45	-47.1%
69	Lynnwood, WA Estimated	43	+207.1%
70	Centralia, WA Estimated	37	+94.7%
71	Mill Creek, WA Estimated	36	-2.7%
72	Port Angeles, WA Estimated	32	+45.5%
72	Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated	32	+14.3%
74	Airway Heights, WA Estimated	31	+24%
74	Enumclaw, WA Estimated	31	+6.9%
76	Oak Harbor, WA Estimated	30	-23.1%
77	Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated	26	-13.3%
77	Sumner, WA Estimated	26	0%
79	Longview, WA Estimated	25	+66.7%
79	Sunnyside, WA Estimated	25	+4.2%
81	Burlington, WA Estimated	22	+266.7%
82	Shelton, WA Estimated	19	+111.1%
83	SeaTac, WA Estimated	18	-71.9%
84	Snohomish, WA Estimated	15	-73.2%
85	Kelso, WA Estimated	9	+200%
86	Grandview, WA Estimated	7	+250%
87	Aberdeen, WA Estimated	6	+20%
88	East Wenatchee, WA Estimated	4	0%
89	Fife, WA Estimated	3	n/a
89	Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated	3	-93.3%
89	Mukilteo, WA Estimated	3	-50%

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/we2017a.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. (2018). 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, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2018, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. 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, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) 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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2017. 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/we2017a.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, 2017
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2017a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2017.
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/we2017a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Cities in Washington by single-family housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_single_family_units","level":"municipality","within":"Washington","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Seattle, WA, with 593 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Mukilteo, WA, with 3 in 2017.

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.