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

Seattle, WA had the highest single-family housing units authorized by building permits of 91 cities in 2024, at 405. Fife, WA had the lowest, at 0. The median was 43. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest405Seattle, WA
Lowest0Fife, WA
Median4391 cities

Top 40 cities, 2024

Seattle, WA: 405 countSeattle, WA405Pasco, WA: 372 countPasco, WA372Marysville, WA: 346 countMarysville, WA346Port Orchard, WA: 344 countPort Orchard, WA344Kennewick, WA: 335 countKennewick, WA335Spokane, WA: 320 countSpokane, WA320Kirkland, WA: 293 countKirkland, WA293Battle Ground, WA: 291 countBattle Ground, WA291Richland, WA: 279 countRichland, WA279Bellingham, WA: 261 countBellingham, WA261Bellevue, WA: 254 countBellevue, WA254West Richland, WA: 249 countWest Richland, WA249Camas, WA: 247 countCamas, WA247Ridgefield, WA: 226 countRidgefield, WA226Bothell, WA: 206 countBothell, WA206Everett, WA: 200 countEverett, WA200Redmond, WA: 195 countRedmond, WA195Kent, WA: 184 countKent, WA184Spokane Valley, WA: 171 countSpokane Valley, WA171Moses Lake, WA: 164 countMoses Lake, WA164Vancouver, WA: 152 countVancouver, WA152Grandview, WA: 139 countGrandview, WA139Liberty Lake, WA: 138 countLiberty Lake, WA138Tacoma, WA: 137 countTacoma, WA137Lake Stevens, WA: 118 countLake Stevens, WA118Snohomish, WA: 102 countSnohomish, WA102Yakima, WA: 100 countYakima, WA100Yelm, WA: 97 countYelm, WA97Walla Walla, WA: 94 countWalla Walla, WA94Tumwater, WA: 93 countTumwater, WA93Washougal, WA: 91 countWashougal, WA91Airway Heights, WA: 90 countAirway Heights, WA90Bremerton, WA: 90 countBremerton, WA90Monroe, WA: 88 countMonroe, WA88Ferndale, WA: 81 countFerndale, WA81Renton, WA: 73 countRenton, WA73Poulsbo, WA: 63 countPoulsbo, WA63Covington, WA: 60 countCovington, WA60Ellensburg, WA: 58 countEllensburg, WA58Olympia, WA: 58 countOlympia, WA58Seattle, WA: 405 countSeattle, WA405Pasco, WA: 372 countPasco, WA372Marysville, WA: 346 countMarysville, WA346Port Orchard, WA: 344 countPort Orchard, WA344Kennewick, WA: 335 countKennewick, WA335Spokane, WA: 320 countSpokane, WA320Kirkland, WA: 293 countKirkland, WA293Battle Ground, WA: 291 countBattle Ground, WA291Richland, WA: 279 countRichland, WA279Bellingham, WA: 261 countBellingham, WA261Bellevue, WA: 254 countBellevue, WA254West Richland, WA: 249 countWest Richland, WA249Camas, WA: 247 countCamas, WA247Ridgefield, WA: 226 countRidgefield, WA226Bothell, WA: 206 countBothell, WA206Everett, WA: 200 countEverett, WA200Redmond, WA: 195 countRedmond, WA195Kent, WA: 184 countKent, WA184Spokane Valley, WA: 171 countSpokane Valley, WA171Moses Lake, WA: 164 countMoses Lake, WA164Vancouver, WA: 152 countVancouver, WA152Grandview, WA: 139 countGrandview, WA139Liberty Lake, WA: 138 countLiberty Lake, WA138Tacoma, WA: 137 countTacoma, WA137Lake Stevens, WA: 118 countLake Stevens, WA118Snohomish, WA: 102 countSnohomish, WA102Yakima, WA: 100 countYakima, WA100Yelm, WA: 97 countYelm, WA97Walla Walla, WA: 94 countWalla Walla, WA94Tumwater, WA: 93 countTumwater, WA93Washougal, WA: 91 countWashougal, WA91Airway Heights, WA: 90 countAirway Heights, WA90Bremerton, WA: 90 countBremerton, WA90Monroe, WA: 88 countMonroe, WA88Ferndale, WA: 81 countFerndale, WA81Renton, WA: 73 countRenton, WA73Poulsbo, WA: 63 countPoulsbo, WA63Covington, WA: 60 countCovington, WA60Ellensburg, WA: 58 countEllensburg, WA58Olympia, WA: 58 countOlympia, WA58
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

RankCities2024
count		Change on 2023
1Seattle, WA Estimated405-14.4%
2Pasco, WA Estimated372+20.8%
3Marysville, WA Estimated346-27.3%
4Port Orchard, WA Estimated344+32.3%
5Kennewick, WA Estimated335+9.1%
6Spokane, WA Estimated320+33.9%
7Kirkland, WA Estimated293+11%
8Battle Ground, WA Estimated291+50.8%
9Richland, WA Estimated279+28%
10Bellingham, WA Estimated261+100.8%
11Bellevue, WA Estimated254+35.8%
12West Richland, WA Estimated249+388.2%
13Camas, WA Estimated247+60.4%
14Ridgefield, WA Estimated226-6.6%
15Bothell, WA Estimated206+15.1%
16Everett, WA Estimated200+47.1%
17Redmond, WA Estimated195+32.7%
18Kent, WA Estimated184+104.4%
19Spokane Valley, WA Estimated171-30.8%
20Moses Lake, WA Estimated164+12.3%
21Vancouver, WA Estimated152+17.8%
22Grandview, WA Estimated139+35%
23Liberty Lake, WA Estimated138-13.2%
24Tacoma, WA Estimated137+63.1%
25Lake Stevens, WA Estimated118-25.3%
26Snohomish, WA Estimated102+325%
27Yakima, WA Estimated100-32.4%
28Yelm, WA Estimated97-30.7%
29Walla Walla, WA Estimated94-21.7%
30Tumwater, WA Estimated93-8.8%
31Washougal, WA Estimated91-41.7%
32Airway Heights, WA Estimated90+190.3%
32Bremerton, WA Estimated90-22.4%
34Monroe, WA Estimated880%
35Ferndale, WA Estimated81+65.3%
36Renton, WA Estimated73+62.2%
37Poulsbo, WA Estimated63-64%
38Covington, WA Estimated60+122.2%
39Ellensburg, WA Estimated58+5.5%
39Olympia, WA Estimated58+9.4%
41Longview, WA Estimated53+103.8%
42Lakewood, WA Estimated48+17.1%
43Kenmore, WA Estimated47+67.9%
43Newcastle, WA Estimated47+2.2%
45Bainbridge Island, WA Estimated43-36.8%
45Lynden, WA Estimated43+79.2%
47Shelton, WA Estimated42+500%
48Lacey, WA Estimated37-66.7%
49Port Townsend, WA Estimated34-47.7%
50Des Moines, WA Estimated33+120%
51Sedro-Woolley, WA Estimated32+100%
52Federal Way, WA Estimated31-54.4%
53Kelso, WA Estimated30+30.4%
53Woodinville, WA Estimated30+500%
55Edmonds, WA Estimated27-30.8%
55Sammamish, WA Estimated27-41.3%
55Sumner, WA Estimated27+2,600%
58Mercer Island, WA Estimated26+13%
58Oak Harbor, WA Estimated26+18.2%
60Shoreline, WA Estimated25+127.3%
61Anacortes, WA Estimated23-34.3%
61Gig Harbor, WA Estimated23+130%
63Cheney, WA Estimated21+600%
63Mountlake Terrace, WA Estimated21-59.6%
63Wenatchee, WA Estimated210%
66SeaTac, WA Estimated20+17.6%
66Tukwila, WA Estimated20-33.3%
68Enumclaw, WA Estimated19-50%
69Arlington, WA Estimated18-43.8%
69Lynnwood, WA Estimated18-10%
71Edgewood, WA Estimated17-66.7%
71Port Angeles, WA Estimated17-32%
73Maple Valley, WA Estimated16-38.5%
73Mount Vernon, WA Estimated16+23.1%
75Bonney Lake, WA Estimated15-6.3%
75Sunnyside, WA Estimated15-48.3%
77Pullman, WA Estimated13-35%
78Lake Forest Park, WA Estimated12+9.1%
79Aberdeen, WA Estimated11+22.2%
80Issaquah, WA Estimated10-69.7%
80Puyallup, WA Estimated10-9.1%
82Centralia, WA Estimated7-30%
83Burien, WA Estimated5-84.8%
84East Wenatchee, WA Estimated4n/a
84University Place, WA Estimated4-69.2%
86Snoqualmie, WA Estimated3n/a
87Mill Creek, WA Estimated1n/a
87Mukilteo, WA Estimated1-85.7%
89Auburn, WA Estimated0-100%
89Burlington, WA Estimated0n/a
89Fife, 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/we2024a.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. (2025). 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, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.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, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. 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, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) 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, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_washington_by_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2024. 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/we2024a.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, 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/West%20Region/we2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/single-family-building-permits/washington-cities?period=2024.
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/we2024a.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 405 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Fife, WA, with 0 in 2024.

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