Data / Rankings / Single-family housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in Washington

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

Ridgefield, WA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 91 cities in 2021, at 648. Snoqualmie, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 66. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest648Ridgefield, WA
Lowest0Snoqualmie, WA
Median6691 cities

Top 40 cities, 2021

Ridgefield, WA: 648 countRidgefield, WA648Vancouver, WA: 572 countVancouver, WA572Pasco, WA: 563 countPasco, WA563Richland, WA: 406 countRichland, WA406Spokane, WA: 346 countSpokane, WA346Kent, WA: 343 countKent, WA343Kirkland, WA: 327 countKirkland, WA327Bremerton, WA: 310 countBremerton, WA310Marysville, WA: 298 countMarysville, WA298Battle Ground, WA: 287 countBattle Ground, WA287Camas, WA: 286 countCamas, WA286Kennewick, WA: 278 countKennewick, WA278Seattle, WA: 264 countSeattle, WA264West Richland, WA: 258 countWest Richland, WA258Tacoma, WA: 250 countTacoma, WA250Gig Harbor, WA: 228 countGig Harbor, WA228Bellingham, WA: 224 countBellingham, WA224Spokane Valley, WA: 222 countSpokane Valley, WA222Bothell, WA: 214 countBothell, WA214Lake Stevens, WA: 213 countLake Stevens, WA213Ferndale, WA: 207 countFerndale, WA207Bellevue, WA: 200 countBellevue, WA200Port Orchard, WA: 185 countPort Orchard, WA185Moses Lake, WA: 178 countMoses Lake, WA178Maple Valley, WA: 160 countMaple Valley, WA160Shoreline, WA: 160 countShoreline, WA160Yakima, WA: 147 countYakima, WA147Tumwater, WA: 133 countTumwater, WA133Olympia, WA: 132 countOlympia, WA132Edgewood, WA: 131 countEdgewood, WA131Covington, WA: 127 countCovington, WA127Liberty Lake, WA: 110 countLiberty Lake, WA110Lacey, WA: 107 countLacey, WA107Sedro-Woolley, WA: 107 countSedro-Woolley, WA107Puyallup, WA: 101 countPuyallup, WA101Mountlake Terrace, WA: 100 countMountlake Terrace, WA100Washougal, WA: 94 countWashougal, WA94Airway Heights, WA: 89 countAirway Heights, WA89Anacortes, WA: 81 countAnacortes, WA81Monroe, WA: 81 countMonroe, WA81Ridgefield, WA: 648 countRidgefield, WA648Vancouver, WA: 572 countVancouver, WA572Pasco, WA: 563 countPasco, WA563Richland, WA: 406 countRichland, WA406Spokane, WA: 346 countSpokane, WA346Kent, WA: 343 countKent, WA343Kirkland, WA: 327 countKirkland, WA327Bremerton, WA: 310 countBremerton, WA310Marysville, WA: 298 countMarysville, WA298Battle Ground, WA: 287 countBattle Ground, WA287Camas, WA: 286 countCamas, WA286Kennewick, WA: 278 countKennewick, WA278Seattle, WA: 264 countSeattle, WA264West Richland, WA: 258 countWest Richland, WA258Tacoma, WA: 250 countTacoma, WA250Gig Harbor, WA: 228 countGig Harbor, WA228Bellingham, WA: 224 countBellingham, WA224Spokane Valley, WA: 222 countSpokane Valley, WA222Bothell, WA: 214 countBothell, WA214Lake Stevens, WA: 213 countLake Stevens, WA213Ferndale, WA: 207 countFerndale, WA207Bellevue, WA: 200 countBellevue, WA200Port Orchard, WA: 185 countPort Orchard, WA185Moses Lake, WA: 178 countMoses Lake, WA178Maple Valley, WA: 160 countMaple Valley, WA160Shoreline, WA: 160 countShoreline, WA160Yakima, WA: 147 countYakima, WA147Tumwater, WA: 133 countTumwater, WA133Olympia, WA: 132 countOlympia, WA132Edgewood, WA: 131 countEdgewood, WA131Covington, WA: 127 countCovington, WA127Liberty Lake, WA: 110 countLiberty Lake, WA110Lacey, WA: 107 countLacey, WA107Sedro-Woolley, WA: 107 countSedro-Woolley, WA107Puyallup, WA: 101 countPuyallup, WA101Mountlake Terrace, WA: 100 countMountlake Terrace, WA100Washougal, WA: 94 countWashougal, WA94Airway Heights, WA: 89 countAirway Heights, WA89Anacortes, WA: 81 countAnacortes, WA81Monroe, WA: 81 countMonroe, WA81
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

RankCities2021
count		Change on 2020
1Ridgefield, WA Estimated648-3.3%
2Vancouver, WA Estimated572+10.6%
3Pasco, WA Estimated563+7.2%
4Richland, WA Estimated406+5.2%
5Spokane, WA Estimated346+4.2%
6Kent, WA Estimated343+9.6%
7Kirkland, WA Estimated327-22%
8Bremerton, WA Estimated310+76.1%
9Marysville, WA Estimated298-17.5%
10Battle Ground, WA Estimated287+60.3%
11Camas, WA Estimated286-15.1%
12Kennewick, WA Estimated278-6.7%
13Seattle, WA Estimated264+6.9%
14West Richland, WA Estimated258+13.2%
15Tacoma, WA Estimated250+3.7%
16Gig Harbor, WA Estimated228+103.6%
17Bellingham, WA Estimated224+83.6%
18Spokane Valley, WA Estimated222+2.3%
19Bothell, WA Estimated214+24.4%
20Lake Stevens, WA Estimated213-39%
21Ferndale, WA Estimated207+58%
22Bellevue, WA Estimated200-6.5%
23Port Orchard, WA Estimated185+62.3%
24Moses Lake, WA Estimated178+43.5%
25Maple Valley, WA Estimated160-23.8%
25Shoreline, WA Estimated160+5.3%
27Yakima, WA Estimated147+2.1%
28Tumwater, WA Estimated133-4.3%
29Olympia, WA Estimated132+230%
30Edgewood, WA Estimated131-5.1%
31Covington, WA Estimated127+7.6%
32Liberty Lake, WA Estimated110-27.6%
33Lacey, WA Estimated107-20.7%
33Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated107+181.6%
35Puyallup, WA Estimated101-1%
36Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated100+300%
37Washougal, WA Estimated94+62.1%
38Airway Heights, WA Estimated89+29%
39Anacortes, WA Estimated81+30.6%
39Monroe, WA Estimated81-4.7%
41Auburn, WA Estimated79-4.8%
42Grandview, WA Estimated78+200%
43Issaquah, WA Estimated77+51%
43Kenmore, WA Estimated77+97.4%
45Poulsbo, WA Estimated72+213%
46Enumclaw, WA Estimated66-58.2%
47Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated61-29.1%
47Lakewood, WA Estimated61+5.2%
49Redmond, WA Estimated54-34.1%
50Port Townsend, WA Estimated53+71%
51Sammamish, WA Estimated50-70.9%
51Walla Walla, WA Estimated50+51.5%
53Ellensburg, WA Estimated49+22.5%
54Renton, WA Estimated48-69.6%
55Pullman, WA Estimated47+14.6%
56Lynden, WA Estimated44-39.7%
56Port Angeles, WA Estimated44+51.7%
56Wenatchee, WA Estimated44+63%
59Burien, WA Estimated43+72%
60Oak Harbor, WA Estimated41+925%
61Mount Vernon, WA Estimated40-53.5%
62Sumner, WA Estimated36-16.3%
63Edmonds, WA Estimated33+3.1%
64Snohomish, WA Estimated32+190.9%
65Everett, WA Estimated31+10.7%
65Mercer Island, WA Estimated31-65.6%
67Federal Way, WA Estimated29-17.1%
68Centralia, WA Estimated280%
68Newcastle, WA Estimated28+366.7%
70Mill Creek, WA Estimated26+160%
71Bonney Lake, WA Estimated24-73.9%
72SeaTac, WA Estimated20+25%
72Yelm, WA Estimated20+81.8%
74Shelton, WA Estimated16-76.8%
75Tukwila, WA Estimated15-42.3%
76Lynnwood, WA Estimated14-74.5%
76University Place, WA Estimated14-30%
78Sunnyside, WA Estimated13-43.5%
79Des Moines, WA Estimated12-75.5%
80Arlington, WA Estimated11+22.2%
81Longview, WA Estimated10-23.1%
82Cheney, WA Estimated9-25%
82Woodinville, WA Estimated9-43.8%
84Aberdeen, WA Estimated8-52.9%
85Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated7-12.5%
86Kelso, WA Estimated5-58.3%
87East Wenatchee, WA Estimated40%
88Mukilteo, WA Estimated3+200%
89Burlington, WA Estimated20%
90Fife, WA Estimated0-100%
90Snoqualmie, WA Estimated0n/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/we2021a.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. (2022). 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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.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, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2021. 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/we2021a.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, 2021
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2021a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2021.
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/we2021a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Ridgefield, WA, with 648 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Snoqualmie, WA, with 0 in 2021.

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.

Single-family housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in Washington: more rankings