Apr 14, 2025 - Real Estate

Seattle's tiny apartments get tinier

Melissa Santos

Illustration of a small house below a pair of hands holding measuring tape. — Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

Newly built apartments in Seattle are the smallest in the nation — even tinier than those in Manhattan, a new report finds.

Why it matters: The average size of new apartments in Seattle has shrunk over time, squeezing renters even as housing prices have gone up.

By the numbers: Apartments built in Seattle between 2015 and 2024 averaged 649 square feet, per an analysis from RentCafe.

That's a decrease of 57 square feet from the previous decade, the apartment-search website found.
The website looked at data from the 100 U.S. cities with the largest stocks of apartments.

The big picture: Nationwide, newly built apartments have grown slightly larger in recent years, averaging 908 square feet in 2024 compared to 891 in 2022, the report found.

Add Axios on Google

Seattle's tiny apartments get tinier

More Seattle stories