Renter’s space has seen a steady decrease throughout the years.
Based on the ratio of the average apartment size to the average number of renters living in a household across the U.S., Americans are only getting around 540 square feet of room to unwind. As the total apartment size has decreased over the last decade, so has the amount of living space per renter.
That is, according to a report by RentCafe.
The combination of large apartments and fewer renters sharing an apartment is, coincidentally, most likely to be found in the Midwest, where the space per person can be as high as 731 square feet.
Many Americans continue to work from home, and the need for privacy is higher than ever. Despite this, rent prices continue to grow. While not everyone can afford to be roommate free, RentCafe broke down where renters can find the most living space per person.
Again, Midwest cities are the best option for renters seeking “alone” space. In fact, Aurora ranked No. 22 among the Top 50 U.S. Cities in terms of renter privacy, offering an average of 659 square feet of apartment space per person. That’s the equivalent of almost two rooms worth of space and 119 square feet more than the national average. This is the same for some locations in the South, but the number of people sharing the same apartment is slightly higher.
Metro-wise, Naperville apartments offer around 584 square feet of personal space, which is also just greater than the national average. Chicago apartments are less generous when it comes to privacy, as to be expected, granting an average of only 508 square feet of personal space.
It should come as no surprise that California offers the least personal space per renter. All California cities in RentCafé’s ranking — apart from Roseville and Bakersfield — offer less than 500 square feet. And more people are being forced to live under the same roof because of the high cost of living and lack of available apartments. To put it into perspective, Fontana and Salinas average less than 300 square feet per renter, half the square footage on a national level, according to the report. These cities also have the highest number of people who share an apartment — one extra renter compared to the national average.
The consensus? Yet another report confirming Illinois as the place to be.
