National Apartment Size Rebounds as More 2- & 3-Bedroom Rentals Are Built

Tucson saw the biggest apartment size increase in the last ten years: 246 square feet 

TUCSON, AZ (June 12, 2024) — RentCafe Market Insights is reporting larger living spaces are making a comeback. The average size of new apartments in the U.S. saw substantial growth in 2023, bouncing back to 916 square feet after a steep decline the previous year. This increase can be attributed to more spacious two- and three-bedroom apartments opening last year as developers aimed to meet renters’ need for more space. Notably, the recent upward trend contrasts with the slump registered in 2022, when the average size of apartments fell sharply due to a historically high surge in smaller units being built.

So, to help renters make informed decisions as we near the peak rental season, RentCafe.com took a closer look at the size of apartments across the nation’s 100 largest cities. Specifically, the research team highlighted the cities with the most generous apartments and the places with the most compact rentals, as well as locations where apartments got roomier in the last decade. Furthermore, the RentCafe.com report also researched cities that are building bigger and the size of build-to-rent houses.

  • Tucson saw the biggest apartment size increase in the last 10 years: 246 square feet (runner-up Gainesville, FL, doesn’t even come close with its 193 square feet increase).

  • This helped Tucson rank as the nations’ 15th city with the roomiest newly built apartments, averaging 989 square feet. 

  •  What’s more, Tucson apartments currently underway are even larger, surpassing 1,000 square feet (1,041 square feet to be exact), ranking 13th nationwide. 

Apartments shrinking at one end, supersizing at other

In general, small rentals are getting smaller and large apartments are gaining square feet. More precisely, two- and three-bedroom apartments have been adding more floor space in the last decade, while studios and one-bedroom apartments (the dominating floorplan among new apartments) have become increasingly compact.

Of course, studios and one-bedroom apartments have been builders’ favorites in recent years as a response to skyrocketing housing demand—so much so that small rentals now dominate the new apartment market with a share of 54.3%. However, if we look at units built before 2014, larger rentals with multiple bedrooms comprised 52.2% of all apartment construction.

When it came to changes in size, studios took the biggest hit after shrinking by a whopping 54 square feet in the last decade: The average size of a studio in 2023 was 445 square feet compared to 499 square feet in 2014. Meanwhile, one-bedroom apartments shed a more modest seven square feet of floor space in the last 10 years.

On a brighter note, the two-bedroom apartment — the second-most popular floorplan of the last decade — gained seven square feet and reached 1,099 square feet last year. Similarly, the even larger three-bedroom apartments saw more variations but have been steadily getting roomier: At 1,347 square feet in 2023, this average is now 19 square feet larger than their size a decade ago.

Tucson, AZ, builds bigger; Birmingham, AL, rentals shrink most

Renters looking for more legroom should search for apartments in Tucson, AZ. That’s because new apartments here gained nearly 250 square feet compared to rentals built before 2014 — the most among all 100 cities we analyzed. Consequently, the average apartment size in the city is now 989 square feet.

Next on our list of significant increases in floor space was Gainesville, FL, which topped the ranking for cities with the largest apartment size. Notably, new rentals in this buzzing college town are 193 square feet roomier than typical apartments in the historic stock. Then, in third place was Corpus Christi, TX, where renters enjoy an extra 166 square feet in apartments that opened their doors in the last 10 years. The average size of units here surpassed the 1,000 square feet threshold.

Not far behind were Cleveland, OH; Knoxville, TN; and Baton Rouge, LA. Each city gained about 160 square feet in apartment size, which would be enough for an extra-spacious bedroom and a tiny home office.

Conversely, there were also cities where this trend was reversed — places where apartments are shrinking. Birmingham, AL, led in this category as new apartments lost 141 square feet of floor space compared to units built before 2014. Next was Silver Spring, MD, where new apartments were 122 square feet smaller than older units.

Third was the Midwestern city of Omaha, NE. Rentals completed here in the last 10 years averaged 843 square feet, 65 square feet less than older units. Likewise, Atlanta, GA, Nashville, TN, and Portland, OR, saw similar decreases in their apartment size for new rentals.

For the full report, click here https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/national-average-apartment-size/