Despite reports of shrinking home sizes, the average number of bedrooms in a U.S. home has increased. Both the total number of guest bedrooms and the share of homes with guest bedrooms are at record highs, according to data from real estate marketing platform Realtor.com. Last year, the total number of extra bedrooms in the U.S. reached 31.9 million, up from 31.3 million the year prior. Additionally, since 1980, the average number of guest rooms has increased by over four times. Accounting for the fact that there are more homes now than there have ever been, the study also found that the share of all bedrooms that could be considered guest rooms is also at a record-high 8.8%, up from 8.7% the prior year and more than double the 3.5% rate in 1980. This is because the number of bedrooms per home has increased slightly.
The average number of bedrooms per home increased from 2.5 in 1970 to 2.8 in 2013. However, that average remained flat over the previous decade and was still at 2.8 as of last year. While this is partly due to an increase in housing production and a change in the number of rooms put into homes, the report also found that fewer people are living together than they were in the past.
The more significant factor is the shrinking number of persons per household, which has fallen from a peak of 3.1 people per household in 1970 to a record low of 2.5 in 2023.
The decline reflects demographic trends, with baby boomers now empty nesters, and millennials, the largest adult generation in the country, marrying later and having fewer children than prior generations. Read more