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Philly has the smallest home lots out of the 50 largest U.S. cities

The average home lot in Philadelphia is about 1,420 square feet, according to a report by RentCafe Self Storage. And Philly's average home size is the fourth-smallest in a list of the largest cities.

A new home going up in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze is seen in this 2016 photo. An analysis by RentCafe Self Storage found that the average lot size for Philadelphia properties built between 2013 and 2022 is 35% smaller than the city’s average lot size overall.
A new home going up in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze is seen in this 2016 photo. An analysis by RentCafe Self Storage found that the average lot size for Philadelphia properties built between 2013 and 2022 is 35% smaller than the city’s average lot size overall.Read morePhotographer: CHARLES FOX

Philadelphia homeowners are doing more with relatively less.

Of the country’s 50 largest cities, Philadelphia has the smallest average home lot size, according to a report by RentCafe Self Storage, a nationwide online listing platform for apartments and storage units. The average lot in the city is about 1,420 square feet.

Thank the city’s density and tradition of rowhouses.

» READ MORE: Philly-area home prices per square foot are rising faster than inflation

Homes in Philadelphia average around 1,280 square feet. RentCafe’s analysis included single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, and quadruplexes.

Homes built more recently in Philadelphia tend to be on smaller lots than older homes, according to RentCafe. The average lot size for properties built between 2013 and 2022 is 35% smaller than the city’s average lot size overall.

» READ MORE: Why is it so hard to build family-sized apartments in Philadelphia?

RentCafe points to this lack of space in homes as a reason why more self-storage facilities are being built. Philadelphia is the fourth-most-active market for self-storage development, according to the company.

Behind Philadelphia, Chicago has the next-smallest average home lot size at about 1,700 square feet. The average square footage in the city with the third-smallest home lot size — Virginia Beach, Va. — jumps up to about 2,590.

» READ MORE: Why many older homebuyers are ‘smart sizing,’ not downsizing

Nashville has the largest average home lot size out of the 50 most populous cities at a whopping 11,813 square feet.

Then there are the actual homes built on the lots. Philadelphia’s average home size is the fourth-smallest in the list of 50 largest cities. Portland, Ore.; Detroit; and Kansas City, Mo., have smaller homes.

» READ MORE: Stash your extra stuff at Philly-area self-storage businesses, at the right price

Milwaukee is the city with the largest average home size at roughly 2,450 square feet.

The average Philadelphia apartment measures 772 square feet, more than the average in 12 other cities. But Philadelphia is one of 30 cities in which the average apartment size is smaller than the national average of 849 square feet. Seattle has the smallest average apartment size at 676 square feet.