Special Report

The Size of a Home the Year You Were Born

Evan Comen
May 25, 2016 5:48 am
Last Updated: January 13, 2020 7:37 am

1930 house
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 1,129 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 275 sq ft
> New homes started: 330,000
> GDP per capita: $8,751

1931 Manhattan
Source: U.S. National Archives / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 1,213 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 295 sq ft
> New homes started: 254,000
> GDP per capita: $8,128

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1932 Shacks burning in the capital
Source: National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 889 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 216 sq ft
> New homes started: 134,000
> GDP per capita: $7,035

1933 house
Source: Historic American Buildings Survey / Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 1,267 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 308 sq ft
> New homes started: 93,000
> GDP per capita: $6,906

1934 house
Source: S. Lucas / Historic American Buildings Survey / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 826 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 201 sq ft
> New homes started: 126,000
> GDP per capita: $7,603

1935 house

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 992 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 241 sq ft
> New homes started: 221,000
> GDP per capita: $8,223

1936 house
Source: Theodore LaVack / The Historic American Buildings Survey / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 1,129 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 275 sq ft
> New homes started: 319,000
> GDP per capita: $9,226

1937 house
Source: Nathaniel R. Ewan / National American Buildings Survey / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 1,135 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 276 sq ft
> New homes started: 336,000
> GDP per capita: $9,639

1938 house
Source: Piaget-van Ravenswaay Collection / Historic American Buildings Survey / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 959 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 233 sq ft
> New homes started: 406,000
> GDP per capita: $9,248

1939 house
Source: Frances Benjamin Johnston / Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons

> Avg. floor area of a new single-family home: 1,046 sq ft
> Avg. floor area per person: 254 sq ft
> New homes started: 515,000
> GDP per capita: $9,904

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