Over the last century, the average home size in the U.S. has skyrocketed. In 1949, the typical single-family home was just 909 square feet. By 2021, it had shot up to 2,480 square feet.
While U.S. homes are getting larger on the whole, they still vary drastically depending on the location. What areas in the U.S. have the largest homes, and which ones have the smallest?
This graphic by American Home Shield uses data from the 2022 American Home Size Index to show the average home size in every U.S. state.
The 2022 American Home Size Index
The index uses data from 474,157 listings of both houses and condos for sale on Zillow as of May 2022. After the data was compiled, it was organized by state and city. And the median size was then calculated for each area.
According to the findings, there was a strong correlation between the size and the age of the area’s housing stock. For instance, Utah is the U.S. state with the largest average, with an average of 2,800 square feet. And since the state’s average home was built in 1989, it has the third-youngest home stock of any state across the country.
This trend is apparent on a city-level as well. Here’s a look at average homes across America’s top 50 most populated cities (with available data):
As the graphic shows, up-and-coming tech hubs like Raleigh and Colorado Springs have some of the largest homes.
Colorado Springs in particular has seen a significant influx in employment over the last few years. This has attracted high-income tech workers to the area driven up demand for spacious single-family dwellings.
The Price of Real Estate Compared to Average Home Size
The data also showed a relationship between an area’s average price of real estate and the average home size. For instance, Hawaii has the smallest average of any state. As well as the most expensive at $743.86 per square foot.
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This trend is apparent in the state of New York as well, which had the second smallest average home size. New York’s average home costs were $421.49 per square foot, the third-most expensive of any state.
Lot Size vs. Home Size
Interestingly, while average homes in the U.S. have gotten larger over time, the average lot size has shrunk over the years.
In 1978, the average lot size for a U.S. property was 18,760 square feet. But by 2020, this figure had dropped to a record low of 13,896 square feet.
With lot sizes shrinking, will there come a point where home size growth across the country starts to plateau, or even shrink?
