Over the past few decades, houses in the United States have grown considerably in size. A newly constructed home’s median size in 1973 was 1,525 square feet. That median was 2,233 square feet by 2023.
Even with this additional area, not everyone has an abundance of space. There are still issues with overcrowding in various areas of the nation. According to LendingTree’s most recent study of data from the American Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau, approximately 3 million houses in the 50 largest metro areas are overcrowded.
Key findings
- Overcrowding is most common in three California metros — Los Angeles, Riverside and San Jose. In Los Angeles, 10.44% of housing units have 1.01 or more inhabitants per room. In Riverside and San Jose, those figures are 8.87% and 7.71%, respectively.
- Pittsburgh and Cleveland are the only featured metros where fewer than 1.00% of housing units are overcrowded. Respectively, 0.77% and 0.90% of homes in these metros are overcrowded. Likely driven partly by relatively affordable real estate and diminished populations in the wake of outsourcing in the manufacturing industry, seven of the 10 metros with the least overcrowding are in the Rust Belt.
- In each of the nation’s largest metros, renters are more likely to live in overcrowded houses than homeowners. On average, the share of overcrowded renter-occupied housing units is 3.86 percentage points higher than that of overcrowded owner-occupied housing units. Renters tend to earn less money than homeowners, so they may have a more difficult time affording the space needed.
- Overcrowding issues haven’t gotten much worse since 2012 but haven’t notably improved. From 2012 to 2022, the overall share of overcrowded housing units increased by an average of only 0.17 percentage points. This is despite the average price per square foot for a new single-family house sold in the U.S. increasing by 95% over the same period. It’s difficult to say why decreased home affordability hasn’t led to a more dramatic increase in overcrowding, though various factors such as shifting population demographics and city-level affordable housing initiatives could play a role.
Metros with the largest share of overcrowded housing units
No. 1: Los Angeles
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 10.44%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.76
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 5.51%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.20
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 14.98%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -1.75
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 9.47
No. 2: Riverside, Calif.
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 8.87%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.59
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 5.78%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.73
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 14.80%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 1.17
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 9.02
No. 3: San Jose, CA
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 7.71%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.18
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 3.53%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.13
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 12.81%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.05
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 9.28
To read the full report, including more data, charts, and methodology, click here.
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