(NewsNation) — Apartments have been shrinking for much of the past decade, but last year, the trend reversed as more multibedroom units opened their doors.
The average size of newly built apartments in the U.S. grew to 916 square feet in 2023, up from 889 square feet the year prior, according to recent analysis by rental listing website RentCafe.
That increase can be attributed to more two- and three-bedroom apartments being built, the report noted. But those layouts aren’t just more common; they’ve also grown bigger over the past decade — an understandable trend given that more Americans are struggling to buy a home and renting for longer.
When it comes to spacious rentals, the South leads the way: Gainesville (1,173 square feet) and Tallahassee (1,159 square feet), Florida, have the largest new apartments in the nation. Both of these cities have seen the average apartment size jump more than 15% over the past decade.
Other southern cities like Baton Rouge, Louisiana (1,068 square feet); Knoxville, Tennessee (1,057 square feet), and Marietta, Georgia (1,055 square feet), also made the top five.
To the west, in Tucson, Arizona, new apartments are roughly a third bigger (246 square feet more) than they were ten years ago — the most substantial increase in the nation.
RentCafe’s findings suggest apartments across much of the Sunbelt are set to keep growing. Port St. Lucie and Fort Meyers, Florida, have the largest apartments under construction.
Meanwhile, studios and one-bedroom apartments have generally gotten smaller since 2014, which means several densely populated cities have seen their average rental size shrink.
Seattle had the smallest new apartments, 661 square feet on average, down by roughly 4% from a decade ago. Portland, Oregon came in second where the average rental is 685 square feet, 7% smaller than it was in 2014.
Queens (692 square feet) and Brooklyn (712 square feet), New York, as well as, Detroit (726 square feet) were also among the smallest, according to the report.
Tiny rentals are trending across much of the West. The average apartment under construction in San Jose is just 423 square feet, the smallest in the nation. They’re not much bigger in Los Angeles, just 553 square feet, the third smallest when it comes to ongoing construction.
Still, some major cities have seen apartment sizes grow. In Chicago, the average rental is 14% bigger than a decade ago, and in San Francisco, apartments are nearly 11% larger.
The good news for renters is that a spike in multifamily construction has helped slow down rental inflation, which remains below its late 2022 peak. The bad news is that the end of the construction boom is already in sight, meaning there will be a drop in apartments hitting the market in the years ahead.
RentCafe’s rankings are based on the top 100 U.S. cities with the largest stock of apartments located in multifamily buildings of 50 units or more. New apartments are units that were built between 2014 and 2023.
U.S. cities with the largest new apartments, according to RentCafe:
- Gainesville, FL (1,173 square feet)
- Tallahassee, FL (1,159 square feet)
- Baton Rouge, LA (1,068 square feet)
- Knoxville, TN (1,057 square feet)
- Marietta, GA (1,055 square feet)
- Lubbock, TX (1,037 square feet)
- Greensboro, NC (1,035 square feet)
- Henderson, NV (1,021 square feet)
- Columbia, SC (1,019 square feet)
- Louisville, KY (1,017 square feet)
U.S. cities with the smallest new apartments, according to RentCafe:
- Seattle, WA (661 square feet)
- Portland, OR (685 square feet)
- Queens, NY (692 square feet)
- Brooklyn, NY (712 square feet)
- Detroit, MI (726 square feet)
- Manhattan, NY (737 square feet)
- Washington, D.C. (744 square feet)
- San Francisco, CA (756 square feet)
- Philadelphia, PA (764 square feet)
- Silver Spring, MD (770 square feet)