Looking at inventory for one and two bedrooms created in the last 6 years in some of our top cities, we compiled this report to see which cities have grown or declined in median square footage over the years and to look at overall trends.
With the exceptions of Los Angeles and Houston, most of these 8 cities either saw stable (with less than a 15 square foot change) or declining apartment sizes that ranged anywhere from dropping 25 to 50 and over median square feet in the last 6 years. This highlights the trend that even though rent prices may be going up in a lot of these cities, renters seem to be getting less and less for their money.
San Francisco
While San Francisco one bedroom rent has been on a steady decline the last few years, dropping almost 70 square feet when comparing 2013 to 2019, two bedrooms have generally stayed around the 1,100 square foot threshold. Inventory for one bedrooms have been getting smaller with every year that passes as prices continue to skyrocket in this city.
New York City
The opposite trend to San Francisco, New York City one bedroom apartment sizes have stayed relatively flat the last 6 years at around 700 square feet, while two bedrooms saw a much larger drop. Going from consistently having a median of over 1,000 square feet in 2013-2018, New York City two bedrooms dropped 50 square feet to reach its lowest point of 950 square feet in 2019.
Chicago
Chicago two bedroom sizes saw more fluctuations than one bedrooms. Two bedrooms in this city dropped over 50 square feet after the 2013-2015 time period and steadied at around 1,100 in 2016 and onwards. One bedrooms, on the other hand, had a less turbulent few years of size changes and settled around 750 square feet the last 2 years.
Boston
Both bedroom types in Boston saw a general decline in square footage from 2013 to 2019, with some fluctuations in the years between. Two bedrooms had just over a median of 1,000 square feet from 2013-2016 and dropped to under 900 square feet from 2017 and onwards. One bedrooms have mostly stayed at a median of a bit over 700 square feet, though it did drop 25 square feet when comparing 2013 to 2019.
Atlanta
Atlanta one bedroom apartments stayed at a median of 800 or more from the 2013-2017 time period but dropped to its smallest size in 2019. Two bedrooms grew in the 2013-2016 time period, but began declining in 2017 and dropped to 1,155 in 2019, the smallest it’s ever been (similar trend to one bedrooms).
Denver
Both bedroom types in Denver saw some square feet fluctuations throughout the last 6 years but stayed within a 10 square feet difference when comparing 2013 to 2019. One bedrooms reached a peak of 767 square feet in 2015 while two bedrooms peaked at 1,100 square feet in 2016 and 2017.
Houston
While Houston one bedroom apartment sizes have been fairly flat the last 6 years, two bedrooms have generally been on an incline. One bedrooms have stayed around a median of 750 square feet, while two bedrooms, having reached a peak of 1,182 square feet in 2016, stabilized at around 1,170 the last 2 years.
Los Angeles
While Los Angeles one bedroom apartment sizes stayed around 750 square feet from 2013 to 2018, with a spike in 2015, it took a dip in the last 2 years to around 730 square feet. Two bedrooms, on the other hand, had its lowest point in 2013 and has since grown to around 1,150 square feet with a peak also in 2015 at 1,250 square feet.
About
To compile this report, we looked at listing data on Zumper.com with a reported minimum of at least 99 square feet and listed within the last 6 years on our platform. The listings were broken down by year and bedroom type to find the one and two bedroom square feet medians per year.
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