South Dakota New Home Sizes Saw Biggest Decrease in U.S.

In the late 1980s, one of the most popular films in theaters was Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.

These days in South Dakota, it's not the children who are getting smaller, it's the houses.

According to the 2022 American Home Size Index from American Home Shield, the average square footage of homes in the Mount Rushmore State saw the biggest decrease of any state in America over the last four years.

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According to the numbers, the average home in South Dakota is down 378 square feet, dropping from 2,293 to 1,915 square feet since 2018.

That drops the state below the national average of 2,014 square feet.

South Dakota is one of only two states (Montana was the other) that saw the average square footage of houses drop by more than ten percent.

STATES WITH THE BIGGEST DECREASES IN AVERAGE SQUARE FOOTAGE

1. South Dakota: -16.47%
2. Montana: -14.12%
3. Vermont: -7.62%
4. Maine: -4.58%
5. New Hampshire: -2.56%
6. Colorado: -1.49%
7. Wisconsin: -1.12%
8. North Dakota: -1.0%
9. Delaware: -0.40%
10. Arkansas: -0.0%

Homes in Seattle shrunk the most in any city in America, with square footages dropping an average of 29.75 percent.

Houses in six states grew by more than a third, with New Jersey seeing the biggest jump.

STATES WITH THE BIGGEST INCREASES IN AVERAGE SQUARE FOOTAGE

1. New Jersey: +54.30%
2. Illinois: +48.18%
3. Maryland: +45.10%
4. Pennsylvania: +44.14%
5. Kansas: +39.70%
6. Michigan: +33.42
7. Ohio: +30.58%
8. Missouri: +29.77%
9. Nebraska: +27.22%
10. California: +23.66%

The biggest jump in one city was Tampa, Florida where the average home grew by 88.88 percent. Minneapolis was third with an increase of 62.13 percent.

In terms of size, no state builds them bigger than Utah, which is the only state where the average house exceeds 2,500 square feet.

STATES WITH THE BIGGEST HOUSES (average square footage) 

1. Utah: 2,800
2. Colorado: 2,464
3. Idaho: 2,311
4. Wyoming: 2,285
5. Delaware: 2,277
6. Georgia: 2,262
7. Maryland: 2,207
8. Montana: 2,200
9. North Dakota: 2,190
10. Washington: 2,185

Colorado Springs is home to the biggest houses in America, with an average space of 2,790 square feet.

Two of the most expensive states for housing also have the smallest average houses. The average home in Hawaii is $743.86 per square. New York is third at $421.49 per square foot.

Homes in Iowa are the third smallest in the nation.

STATES WITH THE SMALLEST HOUSES (average square footage) 

1. Hawaii: 1,164
2. New York: 1,490
3. Iowa: 1,623
4. Maine: 1,680
5. Illinois: 1,700
6. Michigan: 1,726
7. West Virginia: 1,752
8. New Jersey: 1,753
9. Massachusetts: 1,800
10. Ohio: 1,803