Average Size of Newly Built Los Angeles Apartments Declines to 770 Square Feet

Newly constructed apartments across the City of Los Angeles are getting smaller, according to a recent RentCafe study analyzing 100 metropolitan areas. The average floor plan for newly built units in Los Angeles currently measures 770 square feet, marking a 6% decline—equivalent to about 50 square feet—compared to a decade ago.

The trend mirrors downsized unit deliveries in major urban centers such as Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., whereas markets like San Francisco and Queens, New York, posted increases. Regional variations are also pronounced across Southern California. Anaheim saw an average unit size drop of 14% to 847 square feet, while Irvine's average rose 5% over the same 10-year span to 950 square feet.

Analysts attribute the shift to builders maximizing unit density with studios and one-bedroom apartments to serve smaller households amid tight inventory and high construction costs. In response, municipal planners are utilizing the Citywide Housing Incentive Program to offer bonuses and regulatory concessions for developments that include larger, family-oriented layouts. For developers, this underscores shifting density trade-offs as cities leverage incentive zoning to balance unit counts against larger floor plans.