MOUNT VERNON, Wash. Skagit County should be adding roughly 760 housing units a year to keep pace with its expected 2045 population, real estate economist Matthew Gardner told the Skagit Housing Consortium at a Tuesday meeting, according to goSkagit.
Gardner said the county's population growth has slowed as of April 2026, and its residents skew older than those in Whatcom and Snohomish counties. That lowers the labor force participation rate and leaves more homes occupied by fewer people. The county currently averages about 2.5 residents per housing unit, and 70.3 percent of homes are owner-occupied.
Between April 2020 and April 2026, 2,980 housing units were built countywide, about 500 a year. Burlington accounted for roughly 1,000 of them, while Mount Vernon, despite being the largest city, added only about 380.
Affordability has eroded sharply even though local homes remain cheaper than in neighboring counties. In 2015, when the area median income was about $56,000, an income of roughly $49,000 could cover a median single-family home priced at $255,000. This year, the median income is about $99,500, but the median home now costs about $612,838, requiring an income of roughly $161,000.
Gardner warned that if demand keeps growing while supply stays constrained, prices and rents will rise and push people and businesses to look elsewhere. He listed other constraints facing the county: limited buildable land, high project and permit costs, a skilled trade shortage, rising material costs, uncertain construction requirements, and opposition to expanding urban growth boundaries and adding density within them.
Asked what local leaders can do, Gardner said the answer lies on the supply side, recommending faster permitting, clearer requirements, improved infrastructure funding, reduced financial barriers, use of underused public land, realistic land-use analysis and higher density in urban areas. More information is available at skagithousingconsortium.org.