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Table HC10.15 Average square footage of apartment units, 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 apartment units2 Total3 Heated4 Cooled4 Total3 Heated Cooled
All homes 30.5 924 839 619 439 399 294
Census region and division              
Northeast 7.8 943 943 453 440 440 212
New England 2.0 968 968 385 461 461 183
Middle Atlantic 5.8 934 934 477 433 433 221
Midwest 6.0 920 920 609 476 476 316
East North Central 4.3 933 933 620 465 465 309
West North Central 1.7 884 884 581 511 511 336
South 9.6 969 849 860 480 421 427
South Atlantic 5.4 986 812 879 512 422 456
East South Central 1.2 996 996 834 517 517 433
West South Central 3.0 926 856 838 418 387 379
West 7.2 849 646 488 366 278 210
Mountain 1.8 832 796 645 402 385 312
Mountain North 0.9 831 831 529 416 416 264
Mountain South 0.9 832 762 759 390 357 356
Pacific 5.3 855 594 434 355 247 180
Census urban/rural classification5              
Urban 29.7 925 838 622 440 398 296
Urbanized area 26.2 925 828 626 432 387 292
Urban cluster 3.6 926 912 590 507 499 323
Rural 0.8 900 900 532 423 423 250
Metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area              
In metropolitan statistical area 27.8 926 834 625 433 390 293
In micropolitan statistical area 1.8 905 905 661 508 508 371
Not in metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area 0.9 931 875 360 536 504 207
Climate region6              
Very cold/Cold 10.9 939 939 515 464 464 255
Mixed-humid 8.7 951 949 720 462 461 350
Mixed-dry/Hot-dry 4.4 837 623 557 349 260 232
Hot-humid 5.4 940 656 819 459 320 400
Marine 1.1 858 768 151 361 324 64
Year of construction              
Before 1950 6.0 940 928 455 460 454 223
1950 to 1959 2.1 877 809 401 421 388 192
1960 to 1969 3.6 852 695 447 436 356 229
1970 to 1979 5.4 927 818 639 438 386 301
1980 to 1989 4.9 862 753 650 427 373 322
1990 to 1999 3.6 907 838 723 400 370 319
2000 to 2009 3.8 1,052 955 930 486 441 430
2010 to 2015 1.1 1,046 979 862 414 388 341
Fuels used for any use (more than one may apply)              
Electricity 30.5 924 839 619 439 399 294
Natural gas 17.1 905 835 550 422 389 256
Propane7 0.9 904 811 338 478 429 179
Wood 0.6 1,012 1,012 725 501 501 359
Fuel oil/kerosene 1.5 902 902 383 443 443 188
Main space heating fuel              
Natural gas 11.9 924 924 584 439 439 277
Electricity 14.1 922 922 683 443 443 328
Fuel oil/kerosene 1.4 917 917 383 447 447 187
Propane Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Wood Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Do not use heating equipment 2.8 938 0 602 408 0 262
Type of air-conditioning equipment used (more than one may apply)              
Use central air-conditioning equipment 14.9 979 884 979 471 426 471
Use individual air-conditioning units 11.1 894 857 441 412 395 203
Do not use air-conditioning equipment 5.1 836 682 0 399 326 0
Fuel used by main water heater              
Natural gas 14.0 896 824 535 412 379 246
Electricity 15.1 955 853 718 468 418 352
Propane 0.4 902 780 500 505 436 280
Fuel oil/kerosene 1.0 870 870 365 399 399 168
Some other fuel Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Indoor light bulbs installed              
Fewer than 20 12.3 871 775 561 451 401 290
20 to 39 9.5 922 854 615 439 407 293
40 to 59 4.4 952 862 613 441 400 284
60 to 79 3.8 1,045 959 788 433 397 326
80 or more 0.5 1,117 1,024 914 319 293 261
Total number of rooms (excluding bathrooms)              
1 or 2 5.1 660 549 469 405 337 288
3 7.2 800 744 509 459 427 292
4 9.9 933 859 601 436 402 281
5 5.5 1,137 1,040 806 422 386 299
6 2.2 1,225 1,052 858 484 416 339
7 0.5 1,354 1,354 927 481 481 329
8 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
9 or more Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Number of bedrooms              
0 3.1 647 558 477 410 353 302
1 9.9 814 751 519 550 507 351
2 13.9 983 894 683 413 376 287
3 3.1 1,239 1,099 734 394 350 233
4 0.5 1,234 1,171 1,035 361 342 303
5 or more Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
Adequacy of insulation              
Well insulated 8.2 948 863 691 456 415 333
Adequately insulated 14.8 932 852 648 448 410 312
Poorly insulated 6.5 895 825 486 399 368 217
No insulation 1.1 814 561 483 456 315 271
Type of glass in windows              
Single-pane glass 16.7 899 799 593 426 378 281
Double-pane glass 13.6 954 896 649 455 428 310
Triple-pane glass 0.3 1,033 466 745 503 Q 363
Number of household members              
1 member 12.4 854 798 583 854 798 583
2 members 9.6 938 825 627 469 412 314
3 members 4.1 957 865 660 319 288 220
4 members 2.7 1,010 898 656 253 225 164
5 members 1.1 1,149 1,054 722 230 211 144
6 or more members 0.6 1,126 1,065 630 175 166 98
2015 annual household income              
Less than $20,000 10.6 867 809 531 432 403 265
$20,000 to $39,999 8.1 912 822 618 416 374 281
$40,000 to $59,999 3.9 953 868 632 447 408 297
$60,000 to $79,999 3.4 972 896 672 444 410 307
$80,000 to $99,999 1.5 1,045 942 807 493 444 381
$100,000 to $119,999 1.1 1,064 926 786 530 461 392
$120,000 to $139,999 0.6 932 787 765 455 384 374
$140,000 or more 1.3 995 783 747 471 371 354
Ownership of housing unit8              
Owned 3.3 1,152 952 835 584 482 423
Rented 27.2 897 825 593 423 389 280

1Housing characteristics data were collected between August 2015 and April 2016.
2Total apartment units includes all primary occupied housing units in apartment buildings in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. 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.

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.