Recently constructed apartments in Arlington are among the smallest in the country — and they’ve been getting smaller over time, a new report finds.
The average new Arlington apartment has shrunk by 70 square feet over the past decade, according to data from the real estate site RentCafe. At an average of 809 square feet, the county’s apartments rank as the 20th smallest out of 100 U.S. localities analyzed.
One-bedroom units have become even more dominant in Arlington over the past decade, now making up 62% of all new rentals, RentCafe spokesperson Joanna Truscan told ARLnow. The average one-bedroom apartment is 51 square feet smaller than it was 10 years ago.
“For renters, this means newer apartments are being optimized for efficiency and modern amenities, often prioritizing location,” she said.
Still, the trend doesn’t entirely hold across the board.
Two-bedroom units have actually gotten slightly larger over the past decade, and the average three-bedroom apartment is 166 square feet bigger than it used to be. Since three-bedroom units account for just 2% of new units, however, they don’t impact the overall average very much.
RentCafe’s data looks at units built between 2015 and 2024 in the country’s largest renter hubs.
While small, Arlington’s apartments are still bigger than those built in D.C., where new units average 745 square feet in size. They’re also slightly larger than new units in Silver Spring, Md. (797 square feet), but significantly smaller than new apartments in Alexandria (857 square feet).
Apartments have been getting smaller over time in all four localities.
Many major cities have been experiencing similar trends. New apartments in Seattle are the nation’s smallest, at 649 square feet, followed by those in Portland, at 668 square feet.
Nationwide, the average apartment built in 2024 was 908 square feet in size, according to RentCafe. Many Southern cities are home to the largest units, with Tallahassee and Gainesville, Fla. claiming the No. 1 and No. 2 spots with 1,130- and 1,122-square-feet units, respectively.
Photo via Patrick Perkins/Unsplash
