Phoenix apartments got smaller while rents got bigger
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
The average new apartment shrunk in Phoenix during the past decade, according to a recent survey from RentCafe.
Why it matters: Even though square footage shrunk, renters of all apartments in Phoenix are paying more — even accounting for a 39% increase in inflation.
The big picture: Phoenix is bucking the national trend. The typical new apartment in the 100 cities RentCafe looked at grew 13 square feet, or a little over 1%, between 2016 and 2025.
- Floor plans grew the most in the South where Tallahassee, Florida, has the nation's highest average: 1,156 square feet.
- Seattle is the smallest with a 645 average.
Zoom in: On average, Phoenix's new apartments slimmed down 64 square feet to 852, while Zillow finds the average apartment rents for $1,727 per month. That's $725 more — up 24% adjusted for inflation — than 10 years ago.
Context: The nation's average apartment sizes have been on the upswing since 2022.