The size of Manhattan apartments is increasing, new report says

New York City is home to some of the most unexpected living spaces. Over the past few years, the posts featuring tiny New York City apartments have gone viral on social media. One apartment in Midtown Manhattan measured just 80 square feet. Although this might come as a surprise, Manhattan apartments have actually gotten bigger over the past decade. 

The nationwide listing service RenCafe found that in 2022, a rental apartment in this borough measured, on average, 740 square feet, up 3 percent or 19 square feet from ten years ago. Manhattan is the only NYC borough where newly constructed units got a bit roomier. However, despite this increase, Manhattan apartments are still smaller than those in the outer boroughs. 

Renters in Brooklyn and Queens have a chance to score a larger apartment. The average rental unit measures 737 square feet in Brooklyn and 727 square feet in Queens. However, newly constructed apartments in Queens were the second-smallest in the country, with an average size of only 681 square feet. Seattle, WA, climbed to the top of the list of 15 US cities with the smallest apartment size. ​​ 

One of the key factors that contributed to the growing size of Manhattan apartments is an increase in luxury housing developments. According to Crain's New York, most of the residential units in these buildings have two or more bedroom layouts. As more high-end towers began to appear across the borough, the square footage of an average Manhattan apartment went up. 

RentCafe analyzed the top 100 US cities with the largest stock of rental units. The report found that between 2013 and 2022, the average size of a rental unit in the United States fell from 941 square feet to 887 square feet. This drop in square footage is likely tied to the rising number of studios and one-bedroom apartments. Last year, the share of smaller rental units reached a historic high of 57 percent, up from 50 percent in 2013. 

Resources:
“The National Apartment Size Shrinking as Studios & 1-Bedroom Apartments Gain in Share,” by Adina Dragos (RentCafe, 2023) 

“Manhattan apartments are bigger now than a decade ago,” by Aaron Ginsburg (6sqft, 2023)

“Big surprise: Manhattan apartments are getting roomier,” by C. J. Hughes (Crain’s New York, 2023)

“Apartment Sizes Have Actually Increased in Manhattan,” by NBC New York Staff (NBC New York, 2023)