Queens bucks the trend: New apartments grow bigger despite NYC’s space crunch |

File photo: Manhattan skyline during sunset, from the Top of the Rock observation deck, at Rockefeller Centre, in New York, US (Reuters photo)

Queens is the only New York City borough where new apartments have increased in size over the past decade, according to a RentCafe analysis tracking apartment sizes across the 100 largest US cities.The typical new apartment in Queens now measures 732 square feet, up 16 square feet from a decade ago. The increase also puts Queens fifth nationally for the biggest gains in apartment size during that period, according to the analysis cited by the New York Post.Queens’ growth has outpaced the national increase of 13 square feet. However, the borough still ranks among the smaller apartment markets in the US.

Brooklyn, Manhattan apartments remain smaller

Brooklyn has moved in the opposite direction. The borough’s apartments average 714 square feet, making it the fourth-smallest market in the country and six square feet smaller than they were a decade ago.Manhattan ranks just behind Brooklyn at 735 square feet, with apartment sizes barely changing since 2016.The trends in Brooklyn and Manhattan reflect a broader pattern in high-demand urban markets, where developers increasingly favour studios and one-bedroom apartments because they can fit more units into individual buildings.RentCafe research analyst Veronica Grecu said a decline in average apartment size does not necessarily mean renters are receiving less value.“When we see average apartment sizes decrease in a city, it doesn’t necessarily mean renters are getting less value,” Grecu said.She added that developers in high-demand markets often prioritise smaller apartments to meet demand from single-person and smaller households.“The trade-off is a lower average square footage, but the upside is more availability in markets where inventory has historically been tight,” she said.

US apartments are getting bigger

The increase in Queens comes against a broader national rise in apartment sizes. The average US apartment now measures 910 square feet, after all apartment types gained space in 2025, according to the RentCafe analysis.Queens’ typical new apartment, at 732 square feet, remains more than 175 square feet smaller than the national average.The largest new apartments in the country are in Tallahassee, Florida, where the average size is 1,156 square feet, according to the analysis.For Queens renters, however, the borough’s 16-square-foot increase over the past decade makes it the only New York City borough to record growth in new-apartment size during the period.