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Table HC10.10 Average square footage of Northeast homes, 20151

Release date: October 2017
Revised date: May 2018

Number of housing units (million) Average square footage
per housing unit		 Average square footage
per household member
  Total Northeast2 Total3 Heated4 Cooled4 Total3 Heated Cooled
All homes 21.0 2,090 1,791 1,015 843 722 409
Census division              
New England 5.6 2,186 1,861 783 906 771 325
Middle Atlantic 15.4 2,055 1,765 1,100 820 704 439
Census urban/rural classification5              
Urban 17.7 1,962 1,701 1,060 791 686 427
Urbanized area 15.6 1,968 1,701 1,076 775 670 424
Urban cluster 2.2 1,924 1,699 939 935 825 456
Rural 3.3 2,788 2,281 771 1,121 917 310
Metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area              
In metropolitan statistical area 18.4 2,072 1,771 1,081 819 700 427
In micropolitan statistical area Q 2,440 2,134 670 1,140 997 313
Not in metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area Q 1,894 1,630 360 907 781 172
Climate region6              
Very cold/Cold 13.9 2,306 1,981 1,049 943 809 429
Mixed-humid 7.1 1,666 1,418 948 654 557 372
Mixed-dry/Hot-dry N N N N N N N
Hot-humid N N N N N N N
Marine N N N N N N N
Housing unit type              
Single-family detached 10.8 2,974 2,455 1,438 1,088 898 526
Single-family attached 1.9 2,051 1,685 1,022 822 676 410
Apartments in buildings with 2-4 units 3.2 1,105 1,105 493 418 418 186
Apartments in buildings with 5 or more units 4.7 834 834 427 463 463 237
Mobile homes 0.5 1,134 1,134 666 488 488 287
Year of construction              
Before 1950 7.3 1,932 1,628 693 778 656 279
1950 to 1959 3.0 2,158 1,797 1,024 873 727 414
1960 to 1969 2.4 2,098 1,798 1,051 931 797 466
1970 to 1979 2.5 1,959 1,705 1,035 821 714 433
1980 to 1989 2.1 1,863 1,681 1,008 771 696 417
1990 to 1999 1.7 2,580 2,301 1,637 954 851 606
2000 to 2009 1.6 2,641 2,255 1,658 925 790 581
2010 to 2015 0.4 2,109 1,713 1,240 904 734 531
Number of stories              
One story 3.6 2,367 1,888 1,162 1,046 834 514
Two stories 8.2 3,036 2,533 1,478 1,067 890 520
Three or more stories 0.5 2,963 2,301 759 893 693 229
Split level 0.4 2,879 2,552 1,964 1,017 902 694
Not asked (apartments and mobile homes) 8.3 954 954 466 443 443 216
Fuels used for any use (more than one may apply)              
Electricity 21.0 2,090 1,791 1,015 843 722 409
Natural gas 13.4 1,971 1,724 1,100 783 685 437
Propane7 2.7 2,494 2,023 827 1,143 927 379
Wood 2.6 2,829 2,354 1,046 1,004 836 371
Fuel oil/kerosene 5.4 2,403 1,969 839 954 782 333
Distributed solar generation              
Yes 0.4 3,162 2,555 1,923 1,014 820 617
No 12.8 2,762 2,289 1,332 1,034 857 499
Not asked (apartments) 7.8 943 943 453 440 440 212
Main space heating fuel              
Natural gas 11.4 2,063 1,814 1,201 811 713 472
Electricity 2.8 1,446 1,272 768 651 573 346
Fuel oil/kerosene 4.8 2,324 1,903 831 922 755 330
Propane 0.9 2,539 2,013 836 1,167 925 384
Wood 1.0 2,519 2,109 626 1,062 889 264
Do not use heating equipment Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Type of air-conditioning equipment used (more than one may apply)              
Use central air-conditioning equipment 7.4 2,550 2,194 2,038 1,004 864 802
Use individual air-conditioning units 11.3 1,900 1,640 720 732 632 277
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 3.2 1,875 1,574 0 880 739 0
Fuel used by main water heater              
Natural gas 10.6 2,073 1,807 1,154 814 709 453
Electricity 6.8 1,963 1,677 917 804 687 376
Propane 0.9 2,360 1,898 836 1,141 917 404
Fuel oil/kerosene 2.5 2,385 1,958 771 961 789 311
Some other fuel Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Indoor light bulbs installed              
Fewer than 20 5.6 1,548 1,338 666 710 614 306
20 to 39 5.9 1,975 1,690 908 856 733 393
40 to 59 3.5 2,178 1,889 1,123 908 788 468
60 to 79 4.3 2,400 1,985 1,174 890 736 435
80 or more 1.6 3,400 3,017 1,971 899 798 521
Total number of rooms (excluding bathrooms)              
1 or 2 1.4 649 649 399 331 331 203
3 2.1 928 878 492 453 428 240
4 3.1 1,149 1,068 456 585 544 232
5 2.9 1,572 1,363 662 621 538 261
6 3.4 2,237 1,833 1,058 850 697 402
7 2.7 2,765 2,275 1,250 1,039 855 470
8 2.5 2,966 2,481 1,415 1,093 914 521
9 or more 2.8 3,675 3,175 2,074 1,211 1,046 683
Number of bedrooms              
0 1.0 656 656 428 368 368 240
1 2.6 888 874 415 553 545 259
2 5.4 1,330 1,212 650 585 533 286
3 7.6 2,511 2,059 1,112 972 796 430
4 3.5 3,277 2,787 1,749 1,043 887 557
5 or more 0.9 3,572 3,057 1,926 994 850 536
Have a basement              
Yes 10.7 3,027 2,455 1,407 1,106 897 514
Finished basement 5.4 3,035 2,595 1,574 1,084 926 562
Unfinished basement 5.3 3,018 2,312 1,237 1,130 866 463
No 2.0 1,819 1,730 1,209 731 695 486
Not asked (apartments and mobile homes) 8.3 954 954 466 443 443 216
Adequacy of insulation              
Well insulated 6.4 2,277 1,978 1,202 901 783 475
Adequately insulated 10.7 2,072 1,781 1,042 860 740 433
Poorly insulated 3.6 1,892 1,551 652 708 580 244
No insulation Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Type of glass in windows              
Single-pane glass 7.1 1,706 1,466 652 703 604 269
Double-pane glass 13.8 2,285 1,958 1,200 909 779 477
Triple-pane glass Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Number of household members              
1 member 5.5 1,491 1,313 635 1,491 1,313 635
2 members 7.4 2,152 1,826 1,038 1,076 913 519
3 members 3.7 2,270 1,896 1,111 757 632 370
4 members 2.5 2,547 2,197 1,332 637 549 333
5 members 1.2 2,525 2,169 1,427 505 434 285
6 or more members 0.7 2,783 2,483 1,393 435 388 218
2015 annual household income              
Less than $20,000 4.2 1,326 1,140 431 652 560 212
$20,000 to $39,999 4.3 1,850 1,576 764 758 646 313
$40,000 to $59,999 2.9 2,002 1,685 874 839 706 366
$60,000 to $79,999 2.8 2,344 1,956 992 942 786 399
$80,000 to $99,999 1.6 2,487 2,198 1,390 896 792 501
$100,000 to $119,999 1.6 2,752 2,382 1,510 1,030 892 565
$120,000 to $139,999 1.2 2,357 1,963 1,391 829 691 489
$140,000 or more 2.3 2,858 2,527 1,945 969 857 660
Ownership of housing unit8              
Owned 12.9 2,690 2,264 1,349 1,037 873 520
Rented 8.1 1,137 1,038 484 494 451 210

1Housing characteristics data were collected between August 2015 and April 2016.
2Total Northeast includes all primary occupied housing units in the Northeast Census Region. Vacant housing units, seasonal units, second homes, military houses, and group quarters are excluded.
3Total square footage includes all basements, finished or conditioned (heated or cooled) areas of attics, and conditioned garage space that is attached to the home. Unconditioned and unfinished areas in attics and attached garages are excluded. The square footage for some housing units was calculated based on measurements taken by the interviewer. For households responding without the presence of an interviewer, square footage was imputed based on characteristics of the housing unit. See 2015 RECS Square Footage Methodology for full details about data collection and processing.
4When calculating average heated and cooled square footage all housing units are considered, including those that are not heated or cooled.
5Housing units are classified using criteria created by the U.S. Census Bureau based on 2010 Census data. Urbanized areas are densely settled groupings of blocks or tracts with 50,000 or more people, while urban clusters have at least 2,500 but less than 50,000 people. All other areas are rural.
6These climate regions were created by the Building America program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
7Households that use propane only for outdoor grilling are excluded from the RECS estimate of households using propane.         
8Rented includes households that occupy their primary housing units without paying rent.

Q = Data withheld because either the Relative Standard Error (RSE) was greater than 50% or fewer than 10 cases responded.
N = No cases responded.

Notes:  Because of rounding, data may not sum to totals. See RECS Terminology for definition of terms used in these tables.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Office of Energy Consumption and Efficiency Statistics, Forms EIA-457A and EIA-457C of the 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey.