U.S. Energy Information Administration logo
Skip to sub-navigation
‹ Consumption & Efficiency

Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS)

Glossary › FAQS ›

‹ BACK TO ALL 2015 RECS TABLES

Table HC10.12 Average square footage of South 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 South2 Total3 Heated4 Cooled4 Total3 Heated Cooled
All homes 44.4 1,939 1,679 1,572 767 665 622
Census division              
South Atlantic 23.5 1,999 1,669 1,615 801 669 647
East South Central 7.2 1,870 1,625 1,393 743 645 553
West South Central 13.8 1,873 1,725 1,592 724 667 616
Census urban/rural classification5              
Urban 33.4 1,878 1,618 1,556 754 649 625
Urbanized area 28.1 1,906 1,633 1,594 753 645 630
Urban cluster 5.4 1,731 1,539 1,355 760 676 595
Rural 11.0 2,124 1,866 1,622 805 708 615
Metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area              
In metropolitan statistical area 34.7 1,965 1,693 1,625 773 666 639
In micropolitan statistical area 6.3 1,871 1,645 1,381 792 696 584
Not in metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area 3.4 1,804 1,609 1,388 672 599 517
Climate region6              
Very cold/Cold Q 1,849 1,744 1,554 859 810 722
Mixed-humid 21.3 2,134 1,841 1,648 824 711 636
Mixed-dry/Hot-dry N N N N N N N
Hot-humid 22.4 1,757 1,523 1,501 708 614 605
Marine N N N N N N N
Housing unit type              
Single-family detached 28.7 2,379 2,047 1,909 886 762 711
Single-family attached 2.3 1,647 1,410 1,326 671 574 540
Apartments in buildings with 2-4 units 2.4 983 862 826 476 417 400
Apartments in buildings with 5 or more units 7.2 964 845 872 482 422 436
Mobile homes 3.9 1,250 1,173 987 470 441 371
Year of construction              
Before 1950 3.9 1,836 1,531 1,150 814 678 510
1950 to 1959 3.6 1,773 1,491 1,265 735 618 524
1960 to 1969 4.5 1,862 1,583 1,392 821 698 614
1970 to 1979 7.2 1,715 1,499 1,397 698 610 568
1980 to 1989 7.3 1,842 1,571 1,460 772 658 612
1990 to 1999 7.7 2,022 1,763 1,711 761 664 644
2000 to 2009 8.2 2,194 1,955 1,977 777 693 701
2010 to 2015 2.0 2,405 2,116 2,196 828 729 756
Number of stories              
One story 21.7 1,973 1,668 1,537 765 646 596
Two stories 8.4 3,195 2,819 2,707 1,088 959 921
Three or more stories 0.4 2,824 2,505 1,817 1,659 1,472 1,067
Split level 0.4 2,673 2,291 2,083 958 821 747
Not asked (apartments and mobile homes) 13.5 1,050 942 897 477 428 407
Fuels used for any use (more than one may apply)              
Electricity 44.4 1,939 1,679 1,572 767 665 622
Natural gas 16.7 2,219 1,944 1,816 875 767 716
Propane7 4.6 2,427 2,117 1,930 996 869 792
Wood 4.4 2,519 2,195 1,952 933 813 723
Fuel oil/kerosene 1.1 2,286 1,879 1,539 867 712 583
Distributed solar generation              
Yes 0.2 3,196 2,703 2,202 1,242 1,050 856
No 34.6 2,199 1,903 1,765 824 713 661
Not asked (apartments) 9.6 969 849 860 480 421 427
Main space heating fuel              
Natural gas 13.7 2,294 2,050 1,908 897 801 746
Electricity 24.9 1,747 1,585 1,419 689 625 560
Fuel oil/kerosene 0.8 2,302 1,870 1,581 856 696 588
Propane 1.9 2,465 2,222 2,042 980 883 812
Wood 0.9 2,071 1,732 981 935 782 443
Do not use heating equipment 2.4 1,312 Q 1,076 564 Q 463
Type of air-conditioning equipment used (more than one may apply)              
Use central air-conditioning equipment 35.9 2,073 1,802 1,860 813 707 729
Use individual air-conditioning units 8.9 1,549 1,316 902 612 520 357
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 2.3 1,565 1,266 0 633 512 0
Fuel used by main water heater              
Natural gas 12.9 2,210 1,963 1,845 875 777 730
Electricity 30.1 1,787 1,529 1,430 708 606 566
Propane 1.2 2,822 2,408 2,226 1,065 909 840
Fuel oil/kerosene Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Some other fuel Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Indoor light bulbs installed              
Fewer than 20 11.9 1,514 1,295 1,145 702 601 531
20 to 39 12.2 1,715 1,488 1,383 719 623 579
40 to 59 7.4 2,082 1,808 1,667 796 691 637
60 to 79 9.3 2,260 1,973 1,897 810 707 680
80 or more 3.7 2,945 2,551 2,561 880 762 766
Total number of rooms (excluding bathrooms)              
1 or 2 1.5 718 509 610 523 371 444
3 2.4 928 838 739 519 469 413
4 6.5 1,049 963 838 504 463 403
5 7.9 1,447 1,223 1,112 555 469 426
6 9.1 1,763 1,511 1,418 674 577 542
7 6.7 2,258 1,943 1,801 857 738 683
8 4.4 2,711 2,387 2,292 983 866 831
9 or more 5.8 3,657 3,173 3,043 1,187 1,030 987
Number of bedrooms              
0 0.9 729 556 599 497 379 408
1 3.7 908 823 704 671 607 519
2 10.7 1,257 1,080 975 575 494 446
3 19.7 1,993 1,710 1,594 739 634 591
4 7.6 2,892 2,555 2,485 970 857 834
5 or more 1.8 4,070 3,510 3,272 1,095 945 881
Have a basement              
Yes 5.6 3,347 2,445 2,253 1,183 864 796
Finished basement 3.3 3,470 2,678 2,551 1,163 898 855
Unfinished basement 2.2 3,161 2,095 1,805 1,217 806 695
No 25.4 2,102 1,902 1,781 798 722 676
Not asked (apartments and mobile homes) 13.5 1,050 942 897 477 428 407
Adequacy of insulation              
Well insulated 14.5 2,136 1,846 1,752 838 724 687
Adequately insulated 21.5 1,962 1,702 1,612 774 672 636
Poorly insulated 7.8 1,562 1,369 1,180 619 543 468
No insulation 0.6 1,245 857 886 693 477 493
Type of glass in windows              
Single-pane glass 23.1 1,689 1,449 1,334 687 589 543
Double-pane glass 20.9 2,202 1,925 1,820 844 738 698
Triple-pane glass 0.4 2,601 2,138 2,314 1,182 971 1,051
Number of household members              
1 member 10.9 1,488 1,307 1,136 1,488 1,307 1,136
2 members 15.9 1,999 1,694 1,617 999 847 809
3 members 7.5 2,036 1,761 1,705 679 587 568
4 members 6.0 2,294 2,049 1,942 574 512 485
5 members 2.7 2,134 1,884 1,760 427 377 352
6 or more members 1.4 2,330 1,982 1,784 348 296 266
2015 annual household income              
Less than $20,000 9.1 1,354 1,189 914 604 531 408
$20,000 to $39,999 11.1 1,566 1,363 1,225 677 589 530
$40,000 to $59,999 7.7 1,826 1,556 1,483 730 622 593
$60,000 to $79,999 5.0 2,055 1,794 1,789 743 649 647
$80,000 to $99,999 3.3 2,227 1,892 1,984 855 726 762
$100,000 to $119,999 2.6 2,458 2,117 2,078 848 731 717
$120,000 to $139,999 1.7 2,924 2,548 2,585 940 819 831
$140,000 or more 3.9 3,423 2,975 2,869 1,146 996 961
Ownership of housing unit8              
Owned 28.5 2,318 1,986 1,884 893 765 726
Rented 16.0 1,264 1,134 1,016 525 471 422

1Housing characteristics data were collected between August 2015 and April 2016.
2Total South includes all primary occupied housing units in the South 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.