A Full House: Nearly 3 Million Homes Across Nation’s 50 Largest Metros Are Overcrowded
Houses in the U.S. have gotten significantly larger over the last several decades. In 1973, the median size of a newly built home was 1,525 square feet. By 2023, that median was 2,233 square feet.
Despite this extra space, not everyone has access to tons of room. Overcrowding remains a problem in some parts of the country. LendingTree’s latest analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data finds that nearly 3 million homes across the 50 largest metros are overcrowded.
Read on to learn more about where overcrowding is most common. (See our methodology for more on how we define overcrowding.)
Key findings
- Overcrowding is most common in three California metros — Los Angeles, Riverside and San Jose. In Los Angeles, 10.44% of housing units have 1.01 or more inhabitants per room. In Riverside and San Jose, those figures are 8.87% and 7.71%, respectively.
- Pittsburgh and Cleveland are the only featured metros where fewer than 1.00% of housing units are overcrowded. Respectively, 0.77% and 0.90% of homes in these metros are overcrowded. Likely driven partly by relatively affordable real estate and diminished populations in the wake of outsourcing in the manufacturing industry, seven of the 10 metros with the least overcrowding are in the Rust Belt.
- In each of the nation’s largest metros, renters are more likely to live in overcrowded houses than homeowners. On average, the share of overcrowded renter-occupied housing units is 3.86 percentage points higher than that of overcrowded owner-occupied housing units. Renters tend to earn less money than homeowners, so they may have a more difficult time affording the space needed.
- Overcrowding issues haven’t gotten much worse since 2012 but haven’t notably improved. From 2012 to 2022, the overall share of overcrowded housing units increased by an average of only 0.17 percentage points. This is despite the average price per square foot for a new single-family house sold in the U.S. increasing by 95% over the same period. It’s difficult to say why decreased home affordability hasn’t led to a more dramatic increase in overcrowding, though various factors such as shifting population demographics and city-level affordable housing initiatives could play a role.
Metros with the largest share of overcrowded housing units
No. 1: Los Angeles
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 10.44%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.76
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 5.51%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.20
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 14.98%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -1.75
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 9.47
No. 2: Riverside, Calif.
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 8.87%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.59
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 5.78%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.73
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 14.80%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 1.17
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 9.02
No. 3: San Jose, Calif.
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 7.71%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.18
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 3.53%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.13
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 12.81%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.05
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 9.28
Metros with the smallest share of overcrowded housing units
No. 1: Pittsburgh
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 0.77%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.03
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 0.46%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.00
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 1.49%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.14
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 1.03
No. 2: Cleveland
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 0.90%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.16
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 0.58%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.05
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 1.53%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.31
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 0.95
No. 3: Birmingham, Ala.
- Share of overcrowded occupied households, 2022: 1.40%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.16
- Share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2022: 0.96%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded owner-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: 0.03
- Share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2022: 2.42%
- Percentage point change in share of overcrowded renter-occupied households, 2012 to 2022: -0.58
- Percentage point difference between share of overcrowded renter-occupied and owner-occupied households, 2022: 1.46
The potential dangers of overcrowding
Though it’s not a major problem in most of the nation’s largest metros, overcrowding can significantly threaten the health, safety and well-being of those who live in homes with more than one occupant per room.
Research indicates that people living in overcrowded units are more likely to die of transmittable diseases such as COVID-19. Overcrowding may increase the likelihood of destructive events like fires while also making it more difficult for occupants of a burning home to escape.
Overcrowding may also take a toll on other aspects of a person’s well-being, such as their mental health or stress levels.
This doesn’t mean housing units with more than one person per room are always dangerous. In many instances, people living in an overcrowded unit can still live productive and safe lives. This is especially true in households not living in poverty. While certainly not ideal, living in an overcrowded home can be better than other living situations, such as homelessness.
Nonetheless, because research consistently shows that overcrowding can negatively impact a person’s health and well-being, steps to help alleviate it — such as building more affordable housing units — in the metros where it’s prevalent must be taken.
Tips for overcrowded households
Living in an overcrowded home could be uncomfortable or dangerous. Here are three tips that can help people avoid the negative impacts of cramped quarters:
- Shop around. Whether you’re planning to buy or rent, comparing different housing options can help you get the most bang for your buck. Touring multiple houses and speaking with different sellers or landlords can give you a better sense of what kind of space you may be able to afford. If you’re making a purchase, shopping around for a mortgage and comparing offers from different mortgage lenders can help you snag a lower rate and make some homes more affordable than they might appear.
- Maximize the space you have. Moving out of a cramped home may not be an option for everyone. You can still take steps to make the space you have more comfortable. Relatively straightforward strategies, like installing extra shelves, regularly tidying up and investing in furniture with built-in storage, can be helpful. If you’re a homeowner, you may be able to use a home equity loan to tackle more substantial renovations, such as converting currently unusable space into a bedroom.
- Be proactive. Myriad low-income home loan and rental housing voucher options can help you find an affordable place with enough space to fit your needs. By checking your local housing authority for low-income housing lotteries in your area or contacting a lender to ask about low-income loan options, you can increase your chances of finding a less crowded place. While it’s not necessarily easy, the more proactive you are about changing a bad housing situation, the better off you’re likely to be.
Methodology
Data in this study comes from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey with one-year estimates — the latest available at the time of writing. We also utilized the 2012 American Community Survey. Because of changes in how certain metros are defined, comparisons between 2012 and 2022 are approximate.
LendingTree defined overcrowded homes as housing units inhabited by an average of 1.01 or more people per room. While there’s no universally accepted definition of overcrowding in housing units, organizations such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development have published research using the same definition of overcrowding.