The U.S. Department of Commerce just released data on characteristics of new homes built last year. Data are based upon an annual survey that the department conducts on a sample of approximately 25,000 new single family homes started or under construction in the year. On this note I want to share my findings on one area of the survey, the trend in the number of bathrooms in houses completed in a year. I will explore other survey topics in subsequent articles.
We estimate that the typical new single family house completed last year had an average of 2.45 bathrooms. That is, close to two-and-a-half bathrooms.This is a modest 1.3% drop from the prior year, when the average number was 2.48 per house.
Despite some gains between 2019 and 2022, when the average number of bathrooms rose modestly, it has generally been declining since 2015. That year, not coincidentally, was when single family houses were largest, measuring 2,680 sq. ft. on average. Last year, the average size of a new single family house was 200 sq. ft. smaller at 2,480 square feet.
Despite the changes in the size and features of single family homes, as well as location with more and more houses built in the South region, the most common type is a house with two or two-and-a-half bathrooms. Over two-thirds (68.3%) of all single family houses completed last year fell in this group.
Just under one in twenty homes (4.5%) had either one or one-and-a-half bathrooms.At the other extreme, as shown in the chart to the right, well over a quarter of the houses (27.2%) had at least three bathrooms.
The distribution in the number of baths changes little from year to year. However, over a longer span we can see bigger changes. For instance, 8.3% of the houses built in 2010 had one or one-and-a-half bathrooms, compared to 4.5% last year.
Compared to the over 27% of houses with three or more bathrooms last year, we find that in 2010 under one in five houses (19.9%) had three or more bathrooms.
Regional differences
Not surprisingly we find significant differences in the number of bathrooms per house across all nine U.S. divisions. Houses with the most bathrooms are in the Northeast region, particularly the Middle Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,) with an average of 2.6 bathrooms per house. Second highest are New England (2.52) and West North Central division (2.51.)
The chart to the right displays the average number of bathrooms for all nine divisions last year. The red dotted line marks the U.S. average of 2.45 bathrooms per house.
The East North Central division posts the smallest number of bathrooms, just 2.31 on average. This division includes the industrial states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
For a better understanding of the differences in number of bathrooms among the nine divisions, the chart below displays the percent distribution of the number of baths for each division. We can see that fewer than one in ten homes (9%) in the East North Central region have 3.5 or more bathrooms. This in contrast to the Middle Atlantic region where more than one in five (21%) of new single family houses have 3.5 or more bathrooms.
The preponderance of two-bathroom houses is evident in the South Atlantic (with 42% of houses two-bathroom,) the West South Central (42% also,) and the East South Central (44%) divisions. Several US Division have a larger concentration of new houses with two-and-a-half bathrooms. Heading the list is the Middle Atlantic division where nearly half (47%) of all new homes have exactly 2.5 bathrooms. The other two divisions where the dominant type is a 2.5 bathroom home are New England and Mountain divisions, each with 43% of the new homes in tis group.
