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Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in the United States (MEDSQUFEEUS) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about square feet, median, and USA.
In 2023, the average size of a single-family home built for sale in the United States amounted to ***** square feet. Although in the past five years American homes have been shrinking, since 1975, they have almost doubled in size. This trend towards larger homes seems illogical given that the average size of families has shrunk over the same period. Why are American homes so large? Homes in the U.S. are among the largest in the world, only surpassed by Australia. There are thought to be several reasons for this, including the concentration of wealth in the country, and the deeply engrained driving culture which means that cheaper land outside city centers is easily accessible. Where are the largest homes located? The size of homes also varies regionally, with the largest homes being located in wealthy, urban areas and in the South. Large homes, or McMansions as they’re often called, are especially popular in Texas. In 2023, Milwaukee and Omaha had the largest average home size.
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.
The average American household consisted of 2.51 people in 2023.
Households in the U.S.
As shown in the statistic, the number of people per household has decreased over the past decades.
The U.S. Census Bureau defines a household as follows: “a household includes all the persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. The occupants may be a single family, one person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements. (People not living in households are classified as living in group quarters.).”
The population of the United States has been growing steadily for decades. Since 1960, the number of households more than doubled from 53 million to over 131 million households in 2023.
Most of these households, about 34 percent, are two-person households. The distribution of U.S. households has changed over the years though. The percentage of single-person households has been on the rise since 1970 and made up the second largest proportion of households in the U.S. in 2022, at 28.88 percent.
In concordance with the rise of single-person households, the percentage of family households with own children living in the household has declined since 1970 from 56 percent to 40.26 percent in 2022.
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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.
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Graph and download economic data for Average Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (ASPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q1 2025 about sales, housing, and USA.
The average sales price of new homes in the United States experienced a slight decrease in 2024, dropping to 512,2000 U.S. dollars from the peak of 521,500 U.S. dollars in 2022. This decline came after years of substantial price increases, with the average price surpassing 400,000 U.S. dollars for the first time in 2021. The recent cooling in the housing market reflects broader economic trends and changing consumer sentiment towards homeownership. Factors influencing home prices and affordability The rapid rise in home prices over the past few years has been driven by several factors, including historically low mortgage rates and increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market has since slowed down, with the number of home sales declining by over two million between 2021 and 2023. This decline can be attributed to rising mortgage rates and decreased affordability. The Housing Affordability Index hit a record low of 98.1 in 2023, indicating that the median-income family could no longer afford a median-priced home. Future outlook for the housing market Despite the recent cooling, experts forecast a potential recovery in the coming years. The Freddie Mac House Price Index showed a growth of 6.5 percent in 2023, which is still above the long-term average of 4.4 percent since 1990. However, homebuyer sentiment remains low across all age groups, with people aged 45 to 64 expressing the most pessimistic outlook. The median sales price of existing homes is expected to increase slightly until 2025, suggesting that affordability challenges may persist in the near future.
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Average House Prices in the United States increased to 522200 USD in May from 511200 USD in April of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States New Home Average Sales Price.
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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.
The average price per square foot of floor space in new single-family housing in the United States decreased after the great financial crisis, followed by several years of stagnation. Since 2012, the price has continuously risen, hitting *** U.S. dollars per square foot in 2022. In 2024, the average sales price of a new home exceeded ******* U.S. dollars. Development of house sales in the U.S. One of the reasons for rising property prices is the gradual growth of house sales between 2011 and 2020. This period was marked by the gradual recovery following the subprime mortgage crisis and a growing housing sentiment. Another significant factor for the housing demand was the growing number of new household formations each year. Despite this trend, housing transactions plummeted in 2021, amid soaring prices and borrowing costs. In 2021, the average construction cost for single-family housing rose by nearly ** percent year-on-year, and in 2022, the increase was even higher, at close to ** percent. Financing a house purchase Mortgage interest rates in the U.S. rose dramatically in 2022 and remained elevated until 2024. In 2020, a homebuyer could lock in a 30-year fixed interest rate of under ***** percent, whereas in 2024, the average rate for the same mortgage type was more than twice higher. That has led to a decline in homebuyer sentiment, and an increasing share of the population pessimistic about buying a home in the current market.
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Key information about House Prices Growth
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Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in New York (MEDSQUFEENY) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about square feet, NY, median, and USA.
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Existing Home Sales in the United States increased to 4030 Thousand in May from 4000 Thousand in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Existing Home Sales - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
Among the 50 largest cities by population in the United States, Milwaukee, WI, had the largest homes in 2023. The average size of a home was over 2,000 square feet, while in Portland, OR, the average home was 1070 square feet. Since 1975, U.S. homes have grown substantially bigger.
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Total Housing Inventory in the United States increased to 1540 Thousands in May from 1450 Thousands in April of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Total Housing Inventory.
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House Price Index YoY in the United States decreased to 3 percent in April from 3.90 percent in March of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States FHFA House Price Index YoY.
The majority of houses purchased in the United States in 2024 were between 1,500 and 2,500 square feet. These accounted for about 51 percent of purchases made by house buyers in that year. On the other hand, about nine percent of buyers purchased homes larger than 3500 square feet.
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Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Massachusetts (MEDSQUFEEMA) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about MA, square feet, median, and USA.
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Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in California (MEDSQUFEECA) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about square feet, CA, median, and USA.
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Housing Starts in the United States decreased to 1256 Thousand units in May from 1392 Thousand units in April of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
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Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in the United States (MEDSQUFEEUS) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about square feet, median, and USA.