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Table HC10.13 Average square footage of West 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 West2 Total3 Heated4 Cooled4 Total3 Heated Cooled
All homes 26.4 1,791 1,563 1,081 667 582 402
Census division              
Mountain 8.5 2,007 1,896 1,360 777 734 527
Mountain North 4.2 2,171 2,037 1,294 812 761 484
Mountain South 4.3 1,844 1,755 1,427 741 705 573
Pacific 17.9 1,689 1,405 947 617 513 346
Census urban/rural classification5              
Urban 22.8 1,745 1,510 1,109 645 558 410
Urbanized area 21.4 1,748 1,511 1,131 648 561 420
Urban cluster 1.5 1,707 1,490 779 596 520 272
Rural 3.6 2,088 1,905 898 818 746 352
Metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area              
In metropolitan statistical area 24.1 1,774 1,540 1,112 657 571 412
In micropolitan statistical area 1.1 2,022 1,809 1,083 761 681 408
Not in metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area 1.1 1,938 1,809 Q 785 733 155
Climate region6              
Very cold/Cold 6.5 2,035 1,917 1,146 770 725 434
Mixed-humid N N N N N N N
Mixed-dry/Hot-dry 12.7 1,668 1,416 1,256 620 526 467
Hot-humid 0.4 964 61 604 455 29 285
Marine 6.7 1,842 1,598 713 667 579 258
Housing unit type              
Single-family detached 16.2 2,295 2,034 1,396 804 713 489
Single-family attached 1.6 1,494 1,319 1,008 562 496 379
Apartments in buildings with 2-4 units 1.9 910 810 506 336 299 187
Apartments in buildings with 5 or more units 5.3 828 588 481 379 269 220
Mobile homes 1.4 1,129 1,091 549 426 412 207
Year of construction              
Before 1950 3.4 1,843 1,499 633 705 573 242
1950 to 1959 2.8 1,527 1,332 667 643 561 281
1960 to 1969 2.9 1,469 1,180 687 553 444 259
1970 to 1979 4.7 1,551 1,341 965 560 484 348
1980 to 1989 3.9 1,487 1,310 996 575 506 385
1990 to 1999 3.9 2,086 1,906 1,427 740 676 506
2000 to 2009 4.1 2,398 2,153 1,839 849 763 651
2010 to 2015 0.8 2,042 1,891 1,371 727 673 488
Number of stories              
One story 11.7 1,859 1,617 1,091 686 597 403
Two stories 5.4 2,935 2,643 1,951 965 869 642
Three or more stories 0.3 3,227 2,982 1,565 958 885 465
Split level 0.4 2,428 2,354 1,109 736 714 336
Not asked (apartments and mobile homes) 8.6 896 720 498 377 303 209
Fuels used for any use (more than one may apply)              
Electricity 26.4 1,791 1,563 1,081 667 582 402
Natural gas 18.8 1,834 1,590 1,161 665 576 421
Propane7 2.0 2,061 1,785 908 810 701 357
Wood 3.0 2,174 2,000 1,061 775 713 378
Fuel oil/kerosene 0.2 2,037 1,852 Q 694 631 Q
Distributed solar generation              
Yes 0.8 2,619 2,314 1,895 849 751 615
No 18.4 2,121 1,886 1,275 755 671 454
Not asked (apartments) 7.2 849 646 488 366 278 210
Main space heating fuel              
Natural gas 13.9 1,991 1,860 1,273 732 684 468
Electricity 7.8 1,571 1,505 1,008 606 580 389
Fuel oil/kerosene Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Propane 0.8 2,184 2,015 1,054 1,008 931 486
Wood 1.0 1,992 1,825 537 692 634 187
Do not use heating equipment 2.8 1,219 0 572 427 0 200
Type of air-conditioning equipment used (more than one may apply)              
Use central air-conditioning equipment 14.2 2,018 1,820 1,888 740 667 692
Use individual air-conditioning units 4.9 1,477 1,270 645 565 486 247
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 7.9 1,637 1,335 0 609 496 0
Fuel used by main water heater              
Natural gas 16.8 1,815 1,578 1,152 657 571 417
Electricity 8.3 1,672 1,465 938 649 568 364
Propane 1.2 2,178 1,901 963 964 841 426
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 7.5 1,277 1,048 746 540 443 315
20 to 39 7.5 1,656 1,468 888 654 580 351
40 to 59 4.3 1,868 1,607 1,100 705 606 415
60 to 79 5.0 2,186 1,955 1,383 711 636 450
80 or more 2.0 3,071 2,771 2,255 856 773 629
Total number of rooms (excluding bathrooms)              
1 or 2 1.5 605 429 362 343 244 205
3 2.6 811 651 399 413 332 204
4 3.9 1,026 821 576 401 321 225
5 4.2 1,424 1,175 702 504 416 249
6 4.8 1,782 1,596 955 640 574 343
7 3.5 2,232 1,912 1,276 803 688 459
8 2.7 2,671 2,386 1,731 890 795 577
9 or more 3.1 3,391 3,166 2,545 1,064 993 799
Number of bedrooms              
0 0.8 594 433 378 321 234 204
1 3.0 745 590 379 459 363 233
2 6.9 1,232 1,021 683 500 414 277
3 9.5 1,888 1,677 1,018 680 604 366
4 4.7 2,743 2,434 1,789 831 738 542
5 or more 1.4 3,606 3,256 2,973 939 848 774
Have a basement              
Yes 3.6 2,972 2,468 1,539 1,059 879 549
Finished basement 2.7 3,014 2,637 1,744 1,053 922 609
Unfinished basement 1.0 2,858 2,005 979 1,077 755 369
No 14.2 2,031 1,842 1,316 714 648 463
Not asked (apartments and mobile homes) 8.6 896 720 498 377 303 209
Adequacy of insulation              
Well insulated 8.5 2,023 1,794 1,393 758 673 522
Adequately insulated 12.1 1,819 1,601 1,109 679 598 414
Poorly insulated 4.9 1,449 1,231 600 518 440 215
No insulation 0.9 1,066 657 341 450 277 144
Type of glass in windows              
Single-pane glass 9.8 1,303 1,083 682 494 411 259
Double-pane glass 16.4 2,074 1,844 1,311 764 679 483
Triple-pane glass 0.2 2,399 1,911 1,543 872 695 561
Number of household members              
1 member 5.5 1,383 1,242 756 1,383 1,242 756
2 members 9.7 1,818 1,574 1,118 909 787 559
3 members 4.3 1,826 1,606 1,073 609 535 358
4 members 3.6 1,978 1,751 1,310 494 438 328
5 members 1.8 2,053 1,753 1,267 411 351 253
6 or more members 1.5 2,258 1,876 1,280 347 288 197
2015 annual household income              
Less than $20,000 5.0 1,145 979 567 485 415 240
$20,000 to $39,999 5.3 1,571 1,358 792 596 516 301
$40,000 to $59,999 3.6 1,656 1,442 1,008 641 558 390
$60,000 to $79,999 3.5 1,873 1,561 1,123 686 571 411
$80,000 to $99,999 2.4 1,951 1,773 1,075 715 650 394
$100,000 to $119,999 2.3 2,353 2,170 1,616 793 732 545
$120,000 to $139,999 1.2 2,451 2,095 1,590 819 700 531
$140,000 or more 3.1 2,467 2,170 1,837 822 723 612
Ownership of housing unit8              
Owned 15.4 2,254 2,000 1,400 845 750 525
Rented 11.0 1,145 952 634 422 351 234

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