A new report by StorageCafe, a nationwide storage space marketplace, ranked the country’s 20 largest cities to determine which U.S. urbanites enjoy the largest lots. And, as you might’ve suspected, Houston homeowners don’t get nearly as much land as city dwellers in some of the nation’s other big metros.
Houston ranked No. 9 out of 20 with a median lot size of 7,131 square feet -- more than 2,000 square feet less than the No. 1 ranked city Indianapolis, where, on average, homeowners boast 9,191-square-foot lots.
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At No. 3, Austin was the highest-ranked Texas city listed. There, on average, residents enjoy 8,629-square-foot lots around their homes. With a median lot size of 8,194 square feet, Dallas ranked No. 5; at 7,475 square feet while San Antonio ranked No. 2 with a median lot size of 7,475 square feet. With a median lot size of 7,096 square feet, No. 11 Fort Worth was the only Texas metro area Houston had an edge over.
StorageCafe’s survey of the 20 largest metros found that, nationwide, new single family homes are being built larger whereas lot sizes are getting smaller. The median home size is now over 2,260 square feet, up from 2,170 square feet in 2010. Meanwhile, the median lot size of a new home decreased by almost 18%, from 10,500 sq. ft. in 2010 to 8,700 sq. ft. in 2020, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by StorageCafe.
“The demand for housing in many markets is so much higher than the current supply that developers of new residential properties have to make the most of available land. This has led to an increase in what many would call single family condensed housing,” said Isaac Hiatt of Yardi Matrix, a research firm focusing on multifamily, student housing, office, industrial and self storage properties.
Top 20 largest US cities ranked by median lot size:
1. Indianapolis, IN (9,191 square feet)
2. Jacksonville, FL (9,104 soiree feet)
3. Austin, TX (8,629 square feet)
4. Charlotte, NC (8,538 square feet)
5. Dallas, TX (8,194 square feet)
6. Columbus, OH (7,562 square feet)
7. San Antonio, TX (7,475 square feet)
8. Phoenix, AZ (7,362 square feet)
9. Houston, TX (7,131 square feet)
10. Fort Worth, TX (7,096 square feet)
11. Los Angeles, CA (6,882 square feet)
12. San Diego, CA (6,534 square feet)
13. Denver, CO (6,229 square feet)
14. San Jose, CA (6,000 square feet)
15. Seattle, WA (5,271 square feet)
16. New York, NY (2,744 square feet)
17. San Francisco, CA (2,701 square feet)
18. Washington, DC (2,614 square feet)
19. Chicago, IL (1,699 square feet)
20. Philadelphia, PA (1,089 square feet)
Read the full report here.
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