The size of the average new apartment in the U.S. has risen in recent years, reversing a decade-long downward trend, but not all cities are seeing the uptick.
A new study from RentCafe found that in 2024, the average size of an apartment rose to 908 square feet, well below the 930 square feet average in 2015, the beginning of the decade. However, the 2024 figure was an improvement on the average of 903 square feet in 2023 and 891 square feet in 2022—the lowest level in the decade. The report considered the size of apartments across the 100 largest renter hubs in the U.S., as of February 2025.
“The most substantial space gains are appearing in several Coastal and Sunbelt cities, giving renters more options for spacious living,” the report noted. Nationwide, the average size of all new apartments rose by four square feet. By unit type, studios grew to 457 square feet (up 13), one-bedrooms to 735 square feet (up six), and two-bedrooms to 1,097 square feet (up four). However, the average size of three-bedroom units fell 15 square feet to 1,336 – a response, the report said, to cases where location is more important than size.
Among apartments completed in the last 10 years, two Florida cities now have the nation’s biggest units. The average size of new units built during this period was 1,130 square feet in Tallahassee, a gain of 118 square feet, though 49 square feet smaller than units built before 2015, as fewer two and three-bedroom units were built. In Gainesville, apartment size increased by 11 square feet to 1,122 square feet.
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Other cities in the top 20 where apartment size expanded the most were Baton Rouge, LA; Knoxville, TN; Marietta, GA; Greensboro, NC; Columbia, SC; Fort Myers, FL; Wilmington, NC; and Henderson, NV.
However, the biggest gain in apartment square footage was recorded in Marietta, GA, where the typical new apartment built in the decade is now 100 square feet larger.
In general, apartment space is not expanding in the largest metropolitan areas. However, there are exceptions. For example, in San Francisco, unit size grew by an average of 59 square feet, enough for a small patio. In Queens, NY, the increase was 39 square feet to 702 as developers built more two—and three-bedroom apartments. In Brooklyn, apartments grew by six square feet to 708. And in Manhattan, space grew four square feet as larger one- and two-bedroom units were added.
Nevertheless, most cities are still experiencing a decline in square footage. The most significant percentage drop was in Detroit, where the size of new apartments shrank by 25% in the last decade to 728 square feet. This happened notably in Seattle, where unit size plummeted by 57 square feet (9%) to an average of 649. Other major cities where space was squeezed include Portland, OR (down 12%), Washington, DC (down 7%), and Philadelphia (down 12%).
“Square footage has emerged as the new currency in the apartment market, with larger rentals gaining momentum,” the report commented.
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