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United States/2024 1-Year ACS/October 15, 2026

America's Spare Bedrooms: Where Homes Have the Most Empty Rooms (2024)

Nearly one in five occupied U.S. homes has at least two more bedrooms than people. A state-by-state look at the nation’s spare rooms, from Census microdata.

HousingACS PUMS

Key findings

  • Nationwide, 19.6% of occupied homes (±0.1) have at least two more bedrooms than people living in them.
  • 47.1% have at least one more bedroom than occupants; the average home has 0.32 spare bedrooms.
  • Wyoming has the most room to spare (26.5% of homes with two or more empty bedrooms); District of Columbia the least (10.7%).
  • This reflects 132,737,145 occupied U.S. housing units in 2024 1-Year.

This compares the number of bedrooms in each occupied home with the number of people living there, using the 2024 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample. A home has a "spare bedroom" for every bedroom beyond its occupant count, so a two-person household in a four-bedroom house has two spare bedrooms. Estimates cover all 132,737,145 occupied housing units (owner- and renter-occupied) and are weighted with the housing-unit weight (WGTP). Studio apartments are counted as zero bedrooms, as in the Census data.

United States, 2024

132,737,145
Occupied homes
19.6%
± 0.1
Two or more spare bedrooms
47.1%
At least one spare bedroom
0.32
Average spare bedrooms

Spare bedrooms by state

Loading chart…
Share of occupied homes with at least two more bedrooms than occupants, by state, 2024 1-Year ACS.
Share of occupied homesHomes with 2+ spare bedrooms
Wyoming26.5%
Alabama26%
Utah25.9%
Georgia25.4%
Delaware25.2%
South Carolina24.9%
Maryland24.7%
Mississippi24.2%
South Dakota24%
Virginia23.9%
Kansas23.8%
North Dakota23.5%
Colorado23%
Idaho22.8%
Montana22.8%
North Carolina22.8%
Minnesota22.7%
West Virginia22.5%
Iowa22.4%
Louisiana22.2%
Pennsylvania22%
Michigan21.8%
New Mexico21.5%
Tennessee21.3%
Ohio21.2%
Nebraska20.7%
Missouri20.5%
Indiana20.4%
Kentucky20.3%
Vermont20%
Arkansas20%
Nevada19.9%
Oklahoma19.8%
Arizona19.3%
Wisconsin19.3%
Texas18.4%
Illinois18.2%
Maine18.1%
Oregon17.8%
Alaska17.7%
Florida17.5%
Washington17.5%
Connecticut17%
New Jersey16.7%
New Hampshire16.6%
Massachusetts15.3%
California15%
Rhode Island14.8%
Hawaii14.4%
New York14.2%
District of Columbia10.7%
Share of occupied homes with at least two more bedrooms than occupants, by state, 2024 1-Year ACS.

Bars show the point estimate; the table lists margins of error.

All states

StateOccupied homes2+ spare bedrooms1+ spare bedroomAvg. spareSample
Wyoming256,29026.5% ± 1.754.6%0.632,596
Alabama2,059,52826.0% ± 0.756.7%0.6121,692
Utah1,184,42625.9% ± 0.749.1%0.4712,073
Georgia4,220,72425.4% ± 0.453.9%0.5443,604
Delaware412,30425.2% ± 1.354.6%0.544,209
South Carolina2,222,89024.9% ± 0.556.7%0.5923,304
Maryland2,401,39524.7% ± 0.651.0%0.4924,640
Mississippi1,176,68724.2% ± 0.754.7%0.5012,242
South Dakota382,29224.0% ± 1.253.4%0.563,894
Virginia3,449,29223.9% ± 0.452.5%0.5235,621
Kansas1,204,37223.8% ± 0.851.9%0.5012,370
North Dakota349,70323.5% ± 1.654.7%0.623,528
Colorado2,479,88823.0% ± 0.550.8%0.5125,377
Idaho751,18722.8% ± 1.052.4%0.447,730
Montana468,98522.8% ± 1.251.7%0.514,761
North Carolina4,496,35322.8% ± 0.454.0%0.5246,559
Minnesota2,363,44522.7% ± 0.550.0%0.4823,970
West Virginia740,84522.5% ± 0.854.2%0.527,841
Iowa1,343,42422.4% ± 0.753.2%0.5313,947
Louisiana1,848,97522.2% ± 0.652.7%0.4619,116
Pennsylvania5,361,72522.0% ± 0.451.8%0.4954,781
Michigan4,131,28621.8% ± 0.452.9%0.4942,534
New Mexico856,97421.5% ± 0.951.9%0.378,535
Tennessee2,928,75921.3% ± 0.452.1%0.4530,485
Ohio4,929,32021.2% ± 0.352.6%0.4950,871
Nebraska824,01320.7% ± 0.948.5%0.408,372
Missouri2,563,25320.5% ± 0.451.5%0.4526,664
Indiana2,775,63920.4% ± 0.550.8%0.4228,752
Kentucky1,865,45020.3% ± 0.650.5%0.4119,355
Vermont285,54820.0% ± 1.547.9%0.452,959
Arkansas1,246,75320.0% ± 0.751.3%0.3913,027
Nevada1,238,92619.9% ± 0.748.2%0.3312,823
Oklahoma1,603,75319.8% ± 0.750.4%0.3515,339
Arizona2,982,48019.3% ± 0.447.3%0.3029,769
Wisconsin2,535,19519.3% ± 0.551.6%0.4625,978
Texas11,449,77718.4% ± 0.243.1%0.18110,443
Illinois5,105,44518.2% ± 0.346.4%0.3252,307
Maine615,23718.1% ± 0.948.1%0.446,290
Oregon1,744,27017.8% ± 0.546.3%0.3217,974
Alaska274,04817.7% ± 1.444.7%0.192,367
Florida9,141,67117.5% ± 0.247.1%0.3087,327
Washington3,168,08017.5% ± 0.444.2%0.2532,451
Connecticut1,455,23517.0% ± 0.543.7%0.3014,921
New Jersey3,543,93716.7% ± 0.340.1%0.1335,936
New Hampshire570,68716.6% ± 1.047.1%0.385,941
Massachusetts2,829,80815.3% ± 0.440.3%0.2329,115
California13,797,64415.0% ± 0.236.6%-0.09141,199
Rhode Island448,31814.8% ± 0.941.4%0.234,226
Hawaii493,15114.4% ± 1.037.2%-0.155,181
New York7,828,07014.2% ± 0.236.4%0.0180,329
District of Columbia329,68810.7% ± 0.926.8%-0.073,083

Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level, from 80 replicate weights. Sample is the unweighted number of occupied homes surveyed.

Data Sources & Methodology

The figures on this page are computed directly from the source data below. Narrative text accompanies the figures but never generates them.

Primary data source

American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)

Publisher:
U.S. Census Bureau
Vintage:
2024 1-Year
Access:
BigQuery
Cadence:
annual
License:
Public Domain (U.S. Government Work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)

De-identified individual person and housing records from the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau’s largest household survey. The 1-year PUMS file lets analysts compute custom estimates for demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics down to the Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) level.

Survey design

The ACS is a continuous survey that samples households throughout the year. The 2024 1-year PUMS file is a sample of de-identified person and housing records collected over calendar year 2024, representing the resident population of the United States.

Weighting

Every record carries a sampling weight (PWGTP for persons, WGTP for housing units) that expands the sample to population and housing-unit totals. All statistics on this page are weighted estimates; any unweighted record counts are shown only to convey sample size.

Margins of error

Margins of error are computed from the 80 replicate weights supplied with the PUMS file using the Census Bureau’s successive-difference replication method, and are reported at the 90% confidence level unless stated otherwise.

Geography

Sub-state estimates use Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), statistical areas of at least 100,000 residents. The 2020-vintage PUMA boundaries apply to 2022 and later ACS data.

Limitations
  • PUMS is a sample of roughly one percent of the population, so every estimate carries sampling error; small subgroups and small geographies have wider margins of error.
  • Figures are survey estimates, not a complete count, and can differ from administrative records or the full ACS tabulations.
  • Dollar amounts reflect the survey year and are not adjusted for inflation across vintages unless explicitly noted.
  • PUMA boundaries are redrawn after each decennial census, which breaks strict geographic comparability across the boundary change.

How these figures were produced

Estimate type:
Weighted survey estimate (housing-unit level)
Weighting:
WGTP (housing-unit weight)
Confidence level:
90%
Error estimation:
Successive-difference replication over 80 replicate weights

Suggested citation

U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). Analysis by Matt George, itsmattgeorge.com. Retrieved 2026-10-15.

Sources (2)
  1. U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau: ACS PUMS Documentation and Data Dictionary