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.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet Year-Over-Year in the United States (MEDSQUFEEYYUS) from Jul 2017 to May 2025 about square feet, median, and USA.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In 2018, the average detached single-family home size in the United States was 2,587 square feet, and the size of the average home is set to reach 2,647 square feet by 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in New Jersey (MEDSQUFEENJ) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about NJ, square feet, median, and USA.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Los Angeles County, CA (MEDSQUFEE6037) from Jul 2016 to Dec 2024 about Los Angeles County, CA; Los Angeles; square feet; CA; median; and USA.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Days on Market in the United States (MEDDAYONMARUS) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about median and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Home Size in Square Feet in Oklahoma City, OK (CBSA) (MEDSQUFEE36420) from Jul 2016 to May 2025 about Oklahoma City, square feet, OK, median, and USA.

The majority of home buyers in the United States in 2024 across all age groups purchased a home between 1,501 and 2,500 square feet in size. 32 percent of the young millennials (26 to 34 years old) and 38 percent of the silent generation (79 to 99 years old) purchased a home about the same feet in size.

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.

The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and all households in the U.S. and individuals living in group quarters were required by law to respond to the 2010 Census questionnaire. The data collected by the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities. The questionnaire consisted of a limited number of questions but allowed for the collection of information on the number of people in the household and their relationship to the householder, an individual's age, sex, race and Hispanic ethnicity, the number of housing units and whether those units are owner- or renter-occupied, or vacant. Results for sub-state geographic areas in New Mexico were released in a series of data products. These data come from Summary File 1 (SF-1). The geographic coverage for SF-1 includes the state, counties, places (both incorporated and unincorporated communities), tribal lands, school districts, census tracts, block groups and blocks, among others. Table DC10_00845 is for Quay County and all census blocks in the county. The table shows average household size for all occupied housing units combined and for owner- and renter-occupied housing units. This file, along with file descriptions (in Word and text formats) are available in a single zip file.

The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and all households in the U.S. and individuals living in group quarters were required by law to respond to the 2010 Census questionnaire. The data collected by the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities. The questionnaire consisted of a limited number of questions but allowed for the collection of information on the number of people in the household and their relationship to the householder, an individual's age, sex, race and Hispanic ethnicity, the number of housing units and whether those units are owner- or renter-occupied, or vacant. Results for sub-state geographic areas in New Mexico were released in a series of data products. These data come from Summary File 1 (SF-1). The geographic coverage for SF-1 includes the state, counties, places (both incorporated and unincorporated communities), tribal lands, school districts, census tracts, block groups and blocks, among others. Table DC10_00855 is for Torrance County and all census blocks in the county. The table shows average household size for all occupied housing units combined and for owner- and renter-occupied housing units. This file, along with file descriptions (in Word and text formats) are available in a single zip file.

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 median value of number of persons living within a household. The average size of a household is obtained by dividing the number of persons in households by the number of households (or householders). Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census Years Available: 2010

The once-a-decade decennial census was conducted in April 2010 by the U.S. Census Bureau. This count of every resident in the United States was mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and all households in the U.S. and individuals living in group quarters were required by law to respond to the 2010 Census questionnaire. The data collected by the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities. The questionnaire consisted of a limited number of questions but allowed for the collection of information on the number of people in the household and their relationship to the householder, an individual's age, sex, race and Hispanic ethnicity, the number of housing units and whether those units are owner- or renter-occupied, or vacant. Results for sub-state geographic areas in New Mexico were released in a series of data products. These data come from Summary File 1 (SF-1). The geographic coverage for SF-1 includes the state, counties, places (both incorporated and unincorporated communities), tribal lands, school districts, census tracts, block groups and blocks, among others. Table DC10_00852 is for Sierra County and all census blocks in the county. The table shows average household size for all occupied housing units combined and for owner- and renter-occupied housing units. This file, along with file descriptions (in Word and text formats) are available in a single zip file.