America’s Households Are Shrinking, Ushering in the ‘Golden Age’ of Guest Bedrooms

Families across the country are preparing to play host for the holidays, and many will have plenty of room to spare for guests.

Both the total number of guest bedrooms in America and the share of homes with guest bedrooms are at record highs, according to a new analysis from the Realtor.com® economic research team.

Last year, the total number of extra bedrooms in the U.S. reached 31.9 million, up from 31.3 million the year prior and over four times the 7 million in 1980.

Accounting for the fact that there are more homes now than there have ever been, the study also found that the share of all bedrooms that could be considered guest rooms is also at a record-high level of 8.8%, up from 8.7% the prior year and more than double the 3.5% rate in 1980.

“During the holidays we often feel the need for more room, especially for guests. However, we are in a golden age of extra bedrooms,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

“Since the 1980s we have seen the average number of bedrooms per home increase, and maybe more importantly, the number of persons per household has declined, creating an environment where we see both the largest number of extra bedrooms and the largest share of extra bedrooms, even with Americans using spare rooms as offices.”

Shrinking households drive the trend

The study defined spare rooms as bedrooms in excess of the number of residents of a home plus one, to account for the possibility that one bedroom could be used as a home office. The spare bedroom surge was driven by both an increase in the number of bedrooms per home and a decline in the number of persons per household, the study found.

The average number of bedrooms per home increased from 2.5 in 1970 to 2.8 in 2013. However, it has remained flat over the previous decade and was still 2.8 as of last year.

The more significant factor is the shrinking number of persons per household, which has fallen from a peak of 3.1 people per household in 1970 to a record low of 2.5 in 2023.

The decline reflects demographic trends, with baby boomers now empty nesters, and millennials, the largest adult generation in the country, marrying later and having fewer children than prior generations.

The Mountain West and South have the most guest bedrooms

The study found that the trend of excess bedrooms was most pronounced in the Mountain West and South, where building space is more abundant and homes are often built with more rooms and square footage.

Meanwhile, homes in densely populated urban areas, where land is limited and square footage is at a premium, tended to have fewer spare bedrooms.

Out of the country’s 100 largest metro areas, Miami had the fewest spare bedrooms, with just 5.9% of all bedrooms there classified as potential guest bedrooms.

Sarasota, FL, New York City, and Los Angeles also ranked lowest in terms of spare bedroom share.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ogden, UT, ranks as the guest bedroom capital of the nation, with 12.2% of all bedrooms there classified as potential spare rooms.