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A growing body of research agrees that when it comes to house size, bigger may not be better.

For example, the average newly built home in the United States includes more than 940 square feet per person, up from about 550 square feet in 1973. That’s because even as the typical single-family home has grown to 2,400 square feet, the number of people living in them has simultaneously fallen to a record low of 2.5.

“What matters is not really the size of the house but what happens inside that house with relationships,” says Mariano Rojas, an economist at the National Technological Institute of Mexico. “If you move to a larger house, and you sacrifice that, then you have a problem.”

Rojas’ team found that the physical sprawl of modern homes often leads to emotional distance between family members, as well as increased stress tied to the financial burden of maintenance.

“You will never have enough,” Rojas adds. “When you live in a castle, you will say, well, it’s not Windsor Castle.”

Scentists discovered that the initial thrill of upgrading to a larger home fades within weeks or months.

Empty dining rooms, unused guest wings, and sprawling basements tend to accumulate clutter rather than memories.

The bigger the space, the more objects people acquire to fill it, which in turn leads to more cleaning, upkeep, and decisions to be made. The result means less connection and often less happiness.

And while nobody wants to end up in such a situation, they do because we humans aren’t very good at prioritizing what makes us happy. Economists say we systematically overlook costs while dramatically undervaluing the intangible benefits that actually dictate our happiness (seeing our kids at night, hanging out with friends, knowing our neighbors, and walking to places).

Research also suggests that size matters to people not just in absolute, but also relative terms. People are often willing to choose a smaller home if it is still larger than their neighbors’, and studies have found that life satisfaction tends to decline as neighbors’ incomes rise.

Behavioral economist Clément Bellet refers to this phenomenon as the “McMansion effect.” In a 2024 peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Public Economics, Bellet found that the presence of oversized homes in a neighborhood can significantly reduce the satisfaction people gain from upgrading to larger homes themselves. His research implies that housing size alone does not necessarily improve well-being — instead, satisfaction is strongly influenced by how one’s home compares to the largest nearby properties.

It’s a complex issue, but what is clear is that many of us are asking the wrong questions. Rather than, “How big a house can I afford?” Rojas says we should ask, “What kind of home will sustain the kind of life I want?”

Everyone’s answer will be different, and you can’t even measure it with a ruler. But the optimal number of square feet in your life may be smaller than you think — potentially much smaller.

So what should we prioritize? A 2023 study of the Vancouver metro area found no significant differences in well-being among people living in single-detached homes, duplexes, townhouses, laneway houses, and apartment buildings (basement units smaller than 300 square feet were the only negative exception).

What did people say they missed most in their neighborhood? Affordability, proximity to family and friends, and a sense of community.

For more design inspiration, fire up our previous publication on r/TinyHouses!