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 2019, at 507. Mill Creek, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 67. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest507Seattle, WA

Lowest0Mill Creek, WA

Median6791 cities

Top 40 cities, 2019

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	2019 count	Change on 2018
1	Seattle, WA Estimated	507	-3.1%
2	Pasco, WA Estimated	477	-1.6%
3	Marysville, WA Estimated	464	+90.2%
4	Camas, WA Estimated	379	+42.5%
5	Richland, WA Estimated	370	+14.6%
6	Ridgefield, WA Estimated	364	+15.9%
7	Kennewick, WA Estimated	345	-7%
8	Lake Stevens, WA Estimated	313	+32.1%
9	Kent, WA Estimated	310	+1.6%
10	Vancouver, WA Estimated	300	-5.4%
11	Kirkland, WA Estimated	291	+1%
12	Spokane, WA Estimated	279	-26.6%
13	Lacey, WA Estimated	243	+20.9%
14	Battle Ground, WA Estimated	207	+38.9%
15	Bellevue, WA Estimated	195	-10.1%
16	Bellingham, WA Estimated	188	-2.6%
17	Bremerton, WA Estimated	185	+44.5%
18	Maple Valley, WA Estimated	182	+54.2%
19	Enumclaw, WA Estimated	179	-2.7%
20	Sammamish, WA Estimated	175	-34.2%
21	Liberty Lake, WA Estimated	170	+25%
22	Bothell, WA Estimated	167	-40.8%
23	Tacoma, WA Estimated	162	+30.6%
24	Yakima, WA Estimated	153	-19.5%
25	Spokane Valley, WA Estimated	144	+5.9%
26	West Richland, WA Estimated	135	+104.5%
27	Moses Lake, WA Estimated	132	+1.5%
28	Monroe, WA Estimated	119	-31.6%
29	Redmond, WA Estimated	118	-28.9%
30	Everett, WA Estimated	112	-4.3%
31	Ferndale, WA Estimated	110	+10%
32	Shoreline, WA Estimated	108	+21.3%
33	Renton, WA Estimated	104	-43.5%
34	Pullman, WA Estimated	101	+5.2%
35	Covington, WA Estimated	100	+53.8%
36	Lynden, WA Estimated	99	+17.9%
37	Port Orchard, WA Estimated	98	-13.3%
38	Bonney Lake, WA Estimated	97	+70.2%
39	Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated	94	-31.9%
39	Edgewood, WA Estimated	94	-19.7%
41	Gig Harbor, WA Estimated	88	-48.8%
42	Mercer Island, WA Estimated	84	-1.2%
42	Mount Vernon, WA Estimated	84	-51.2%
44	Tumwater, WA Estimated	75	+19%
45	Puyallup, WA Estimated	71	-24.5%
46	University Place, WA Estimated	67	+63.4%
47	Anacortes, WA Estimated	66	-34%
47	Federal Way, WA Estimated	66	+1.5%
47	Sunnyside, WA Estimated	66	+153.8%
50	Issaquah, WA Estimated	64	-67.8%
51	Woodinville, WA Estimated	61	-67.4%
52	Shelton, WA Estimated	59	-1.7%
53	Walla Walla, WA Estimated	57	-51.3%
54	Des Moines, WA Estimated	55	-24.7%
55	Washougal, WA Estimated	54	+45.9%
56	Cheney, WA Estimated	53	+960%
57	Airway Heights, WA Estimated	52	+44.4%
58	Port Townsend, WA Estimated	51	+59.4%
59	Poulsbo, WA Estimated	47	-37.3%
60	Port Angeles, WA Estimated	45	+50%
61	Kenmore, WA Estimated	42	-41.7%
62	Newcastle, WA Estimated	41	-48.8%
63	Burlington, WA Estimated	40	+33.3%
63	Wenatchee, WA Estimated	40	-4.8%
63	Yelm, WA Estimated	40	-13%
66	Ellensburg, WA Estimated	36	0%
67	Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated	35	+105.9%
68	Burien, WA Estimated	34	+21.4%
68	Centralia, WA Estimated	34	-30.6%
70	Lakewood, WA Estimated	31	-52.3%
71	Lynnwood, WA Estimated	30	-56.5%
71	Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated	30	+36.4%
73	Olympia, WA Estimated	29	-14.7%
74	Edmonds, WA Estimated	25	-56.1%
75	Auburn, WA Estimated	23	-54%
75	Fife, WA Estimated	23	+666.7%
77	Tukwila, WA Estimated	20	+11.1%
78	Sumner, WA Estimated	18	-18.2%
79	Longview, WA Estimated	15	-16.7%
80	Arlington, WA Estimated	10	+42.9%
80	Grandview, WA Estimated	10	+25%
80	SeaTac, WA Estimated	10	-71.4%
80	Snohomish, WA Estimated	10	+66.7%
84	Kelso, WA Estimated	9	+50%
84	Oak Harbor, WA Estimated	9	-82.7%
84	Snoqualmie, WA Estimated	9	+80%
87	Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated	8	-42.9%
88	Mukilteo, WA Estimated	5	-44.4%
89	Aberdeen, WA Estimated	2	0%
90	East Wenatchee, WA Estimated	1	-87.5%
91	Mill Creek, WA Estimated	0	n/a

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/we2019a.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. (2020). 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, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.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, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2019. 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/we2019a.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, 2019
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2019a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2019.
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/we2019a.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 507 in 2019, 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 2019.

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.