Henderson, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach were the cities in the United States where the average size of rental apartments was the largest in 2024. In Henderson, NV, this measured at *** square feet, whereas in Seattle, WA, the average apartment was much smaller at *** square feet. When it comes to affordability, Wichita, KS, was the city where 1,500 U.S. dollars would get renters the largest apartment.

Among the ** largest cities in the United States, newly built apartments in Jacksonville, Houston and Fort Worth had the largest square footage. In Jacksonville, the average apartment in 2019 was *** square feet, while in Seattle, it was *** square foot. Compared with the national average, apartments in the biggest cities are substantially smaller, which reflects the competitiveness of these markets.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in the United States (MEDSQUFEEUS) from Jul 2016 to Jun 2025 about square feet, median, and USA.

This statistic shows the average size of newly built one-bedroom apartments in the United States from 2008 to 2018. One-bedroom apartments built in 2018 were, on average, *** square feet, down from *** square feet in 2008.

The average monthly rent of apartments in California increased substantially 2021, followed by a period of stabilization. In May 2024, the average rent of a two-bedroom apartment cost over ***** U.S. dollars, up from ***** U.S. dollars in December 2020 before rents started to rise. Nevertheless, not all cities saw rents rise at the same pace.

The average monthly rent for all apartment types in the U.S. soared in 2021 and 2022, followed by a slight decline in the next two years. In April 2025, the monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment amounting to ***** U.S. dollars. That was an increase from ***** U.S. dollars in January 2021, but a decline from the peak value of ***** U.S. dollars in August 2022. Where are the most expensive apartments in the U.S.? Apartment rents vary widely from state to state. To afford a two-bedroom apartment in California, for example, a renter needed to earn an average hourly wage of nearly ** U.S. dollars, which was approximately double the average wage in North Carolina and three times as much as the average wage in Arkansas. In fact, rental costs were considerably higher than the hourly minimum wage in all U.S. states. How did rents change in different states in the U.S.? In 2024, some of the most expensive states to rent an apartment only saw a moderate increase in rental prices. Nevertheless, rents increased in most states as of April 2025. In West Virginia, the annual rental growth was the highest, at ***** percent.

Graph and download economic data for New Privately Owned Housing Completions in the United States, Median Square Feet of Floor Area for One-Family Units (COMPSFLAM1FQ) from Q1 1987 to Q1 2025 about floor area, privately owned, 1-unit structures, family, new, median, housing, and USA.

In 2018, the average home size in the United States was 6,295 square feet, and the size of the average home is set to fall to 6,121 square feet by 2023.

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Rent Payments (EC8)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Median rent payment

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time.

DATA SOURCE
U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org
Count 2 (1970)
Form STF1 (1980-1990)
Form SF3a (2000)

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent)

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/
1970-2021

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries.

Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Florida (MEDSQUFEEFL) from Jul 2016 to Jun 2025 about square feet, FL, median, and USA.

In 2023, the median size of a multifamily housing unit in the United States was ***** square feet. Multifamily housing units include apartment complexes, condominiums, duplexes, and lofts. Single family housing units are typically more than double the size of multifamily units.

The median home size in square feet for listings in a given market during the specified month.

With the release of its September 2022 housing trends report, Realtor.com® incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing and reporting housing inventory trends and metrics. The new methodology updates and improves the calculation of time on market and improves handling of duplicate listings. Most areas across the country will see minor changes with a smaller handful of areas seeing larger updates. As a result of these changes, the data released since October 2022 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before October 2022) and Realtor.com® economics blog posts. However, future data releases, including historical data, will consistently apply the new methodology. More details are available at the source's Real Estate Data Library (https://www.realtor.com/research/data/).

With the release of its November 2021 housing trends report, Realtor.com® incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing and reporting housing inventory trends and metrics. The new methodology uses the latest and most accurate data mapping of listing statuses to yield a cleaner and more consistent measurement of active listings at both the national and local level. The methodology has also been adjusted to better account for missing data in some fields including square footage. Most areas across the country will see minor changes with a smaller handful of areas seeing larger updates. As a result of these changes, the data released since December 2021 will not be directly comparable with previous data releases (files downloaded before December 2021) and Realtor.com® economics blog posts. However, future data releases, including historical data, will consistently apply the new methodology. More details are available at the source's Real Estate Data Library (https://www.realtor.com/research/data/).

Graph and download economic data for New Privately Owned Housing Starts in the United States, Average Square Feet of Floor Area for One-Family Units (HOUSTSFLAA1FQ) from Q1 1999 to Q1 2025 about floor area, housing starts, privately owned, 1-unit structures, family, new, housing, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Month-Over-Month in Honolulu County/city, HI (MEDSQUFEEMM15003) from Jul 2017 to Jun 2025 about Honolulu County/City, HI; square feet; median; and USA.

The average monthly rent of apartments in Florida increased substantially in 2021, followed by two years of slight decrease. As of May 2024, the average rent of a two-bedroom apartment in Florida cost 1,557 U.S. dollars, which was an increase of 400 U.S. dollars from May 2020 when prices started to rise.

Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Washington was 1951.00000 Level in May of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Washington reached a record high of 2130.00000 in June of 2018 and a record low of 1820.00000 in February of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Washington - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in New Jersey was -1.52% in May of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in New Jersey reached a record high of 5.64 in March of 2023 and a record low of -10.51 in July of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in New Jersey - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Month-Over-Month in Maine (MEDSQUFEEMMME) from Jul 2017 to Jun 2025 about ME, square feet, median, and USA.

Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in Steuben County, NY was 2.74% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in Steuben County, NY reached a record high of 12.26 in February of 2021 and a record low of -13.10 in March of 2022. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in Steuben County, NY - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on May of 2025.

Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in Boulder County, CO was -17.11% in December of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in Boulder County, CO reached a record high of 12.96 in January of 2022 and a record low of -23.51 in February of 2019. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in Boulder County, CO - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.