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 2018, at 523. Mill Creek, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 80. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest523Seattle, WA

Lowest0Mill Creek, WA

Median8091 cities

Top 40 cities, 2018

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	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Seattle, WA Estimated	523	-11.8%
2	Pasco, WA Estimated	485	+3.6%
3	Spokane, WA Estimated	380	+14.1%
4	Kennewick, WA Estimated	371	+71%
5	Richland, WA Estimated	323	+19.2%
6	Vancouver, WA Estimated	317	+79.1%
7	Ridgefield, WA Estimated	314	+97.5%
8	Kent, WA Estimated	305	-4.4%
9	Kirkland, WA Estimated	288	-12.2%
10	Bothell, WA Estimated	282	+75.2%
11	Camas, WA Estimated	266	+13.2%
11	Sammamish, WA Estimated	266	-27.5%
13	Marysville, WA Estimated	244	+216.9%
14	Lake Stevens, WA Estimated	237	+41.9%
15	Bellevue, WA Estimated	217	-41.8%
16	Lacey, WA Estimated	201	+23.3%
17	Issaquah, WA Estimated	199	+59.2%
18	Bellingham, WA Estimated	193	-11.1%
19	Yakima, WA Estimated	190	+55.7%
20	Woodinville, WA Estimated	187	+54.5%
21	Enumclaw, WA Estimated	184	+493.5%
21	Renton, WA Estimated	184	+50.8%
23	Monroe, WA Estimated	174	+31.8%
24	Gig Harbor, WA Estimated	172	-29.8%
24	Mount Vernon, WA Estimated	172	+8.2%
26	Redmond, WA Estimated	166	+78.5%
27	Battle Ground, WA Estimated	149	-2.6%
28	Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated	138	+56.8%
29	Liberty Lake, WA Estimated	136	-1.4%
29	Spokane Valley, WA Estimated	136	+7.9%
31	Moses Lake, WA Estimated	130	+11.1%
32	Bremerton, WA Estimated	128	+14.3%
33	Tacoma, WA Estimated	124	-10.8%
34	Maple Valley, WA Estimated	118	+0.9%
35	Edgewood, WA Estimated	117	-29.1%
35	Everett, WA Estimated	117	-55.2%
35	Walla Walla, WA Estimated	117	+160%
38	Port Orchard, WA Estimated	113	+46.8%
39	Anacortes, WA Estimated	100	+17.6%
39	Ferndale, WA Estimated	100	-19.4%
41	Pullman, WA Estimated	96	+77.8%
42	Puyallup, WA Estimated	94	-19.7%
43	Shoreline, WA Estimated	89	-1.1%
44	Mercer Island, WA Estimated	85	+9%
45	Lynden, WA Estimated	84	+7.7%
46	Newcastle, WA Estimated	80	+63.3%
47	Poulsbo, WA Estimated	75	-25.7%
48	Des Moines, WA Estimated	73	+62.2%
49	Kenmore, WA Estimated	72	-2.7%
50	Lynnwood, WA Estimated	69	+60.5%
51	West Richland, WA Estimated	66	-27.5%
52	Covington, WA Estimated	65	-23.5%
52	Federal Way, WA Estimated	65	+25%
52	Lakewood, WA Estimated	65	+32.7%
55	Tumwater, WA Estimated	63	-43.2%
56	Shelton, WA Estimated	60	+215.8%
57	Bonney Lake, WA Estimated	57	+5.6%
57	Edmonds, WA Estimated	57	-5%
59	Oak Harbor, WA Estimated	52	+73.3%
60	Auburn, WA Estimated	50	-64%
61	Centralia, WA Estimated	49	+32.4%
62	Yelm, WA Estimated	46	-11.5%
63	Wenatchee, WA Estimated	42	-31.1%
64	University Place, WA Estimated	41	-65.3%
65	Washougal, WA Estimated	37	-49.3%
66	Airway Heights, WA Estimated	36	+16.1%
66	Ellensburg, WA Estimated	36	-61.3%
68	SeaTac, WA Estimated	35	+94.4%
69	Olympia, WA Estimated	34	-63.8%
70	Port Townsend, WA Estimated	32	-39.6%
71	Burlington, WA Estimated	30	+36.4%
71	Port Angeles, WA Estimated	30	-6.3%
73	Burien, WA Estimated	28	-51.7%
74	Sunnyside, WA Estimated	26	+4%
75	Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated	22	+633.3%
75	Sumner, WA Estimated	22	-15.4%
77	Longview, WA Estimated	18	-28%
77	Tukwila, WA Estimated	18	-60.9%
79	Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated	17	-46.9%
80	Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated	14	-46.2%
81	Mukilteo, WA Estimated	9	+200%
82	East Wenatchee, WA Estimated	8	+100%
82	Grandview, WA Estimated	8	+14.3%
84	Arlington, WA Estimated	7	-92.4%
85	Kelso, WA Estimated	6	-33.3%
85	Snohomish, WA Estimated	6	-60%
87	Cheney, WA Estimated	5	-90.9%
87	Snoqualmie, WA Estimated	5	-93.8%
89	Fife, WA Estimated	3	0%
90	Aberdeen, WA Estimated	2	-66.7%
91	Mill Creek, 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/we2018a.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. (2019). 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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 20 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) 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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2018. 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/we2018a.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, 2018
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/20
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2018a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2018.
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/we2018a.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 523 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Mill Creek, WA, with 0 in 2018.

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.