Bathrooms in New Homes, 1973 to 2025: How America Built Its Way Out of the One-Bath House
The short answer
In 1973, 40 percent of new single-family homes were finished with one and a half bathrooms or fewer. In 2025 it was 4 percent, and 32 percent had three or more, according to the Census Bureau’s Characteristics of New Housing. The three-bathroom share peaked at 38 percent in 2015. Yet 30 percent of all occupied US homes still have a single full bathroom.
What we measured and found
Every bathroom is a set of rough-in drains, vents, supply lines and fixtures, so the number of bathrooms built into new homes is a direct measure of the plumbing content of new construction. The Census Bureau has counted bathrooms in completed new single-family homes every year since 1973. This report reads that full series and sets it against the bathroom count of the existing housing stock from the American Housing Survey.
| Year completed | Homes (thousands) | 1.5 baths or fewer | 2 baths | 2.5 baths | 3 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 1,197 | 40% | 41% | 19%* | n/a |
| 1980 | 957 | 28% | 48% | 25%* | n/a |
| 1987 | 1,123 | 17% | 45% | 26% | 12% |
| 1990 | 966 | 13% | 42% | 27% | 18% |
| 1995 | 1,066 | 11% | 41% | 33% | 15% |
| 2000 | 1,242 | 7% | 39% | 34% | 20% |
| 2005 | 1,636 | 4% | 36% | 33% | 26% |
| 2010 | 496 | 8% | 36% | 32% | 25% |
| 2015 | 648 | 4% | 29% | 29% | 38% |
| 2020 | 912 | 3% | 35% | 28% | 34% |
| 2023 | 999 | 4% | 34% | 28% | 34% |
| 2024 | 1,019 | 5% | 33% | 31% | 31% |
| 2025 | 1,005 | 4% | 33% | 30% | 32% |
Source: US Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing, number of bathrooms in new single-family houses completed (bathrooms_cust.xls). *Through 1986 the 2.5 column includes 2.5 or more bathrooms; the 3-or-more category begins in 1987. Every year from 1973 to 2025 is in the CSV.
Measured values, sourced
- New single-family homes completed in 1973 with 1.5 bathrooms or fewer: 40 percent (482,000 homes). Source: Census Bureau, CHARS.
- In 2025: 4 percent (45,000 homes). Source: Census Bureau, CHARS.
- Share with three or more bathrooms in 1987, the first year reported: 12 percent. Peak: 38 percent in 2015. 2025: 32 percent. Source: Census Bureau, CHARS.
- New single-family homes completed in 2025: 1,005,000, of which 323,000 had three or more bathrooms. Source: Census Bureau, CHARS.
- Built-for-sale homes with 1.5 bathrooms or fewer in 2025: 1 percent. Owner-built homes: 19 percent. Source: Census Bureau, CHARS.
- Region with the highest three-plus share in 2025: Northeast 37%, Midwest 23%, South 32%, West 35%. Source: Census Bureau, CHARS.
- Occupied US homes with one full bathroom in 2023: 40,283,000, 30.3 percent of homes with a full bathroom. Source: calculated from the AHS 2023 PUF.
- Occupied homes with 2.5 or more bathrooms in 2023: 36,295,000, 27.3 percent. Source: calculated from the AHS 2023 PUF.
The four regions in 2025
| Region | Homes completed (thousands) | 1.5 or fewer | 2 baths | 2.5 baths | 3 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 66 | 8.0% | 22% | 32% | 37% |
| Midwest | 131 | 9.0% | 36% | 31% | 23% |
| South | 584 | 3.0% | 36% | 29% | 32% |
| West | 224 | 5.0% | 26% | 34% | 35% |
Source: Census Bureau, CHARS. (Z) means fewer than 500 homes or under 0.5 percent.
Derived measures
The one-bath new home fell by nine tenths
Formula. Share of new completions with 1.5 bathrooms or fewer, 1973 against 2025.
Calculation. 40 percent to 4 percent, a fall of 36 points. In homes, 482,000 to 45,000.
Finding. Builders now put at least two full bathrooms in more than 95 percent of new single-family homes. Each extra bathroom adds drain, vent and supply rough-in and a set of fixtures, so the plumbing content of the average new house is far higher than in the 1970s. Our guide to bathroom plumbing rough-in lists the dimensions and pipe sizes each new bathroom needs.
Limitations. The series covers single-family completions only. Apartments, where one-bath units remain common, are not included.
New homes and the existing stock are diverging
Formula. One-full-bathroom share of the occupied stock (AHS 2023) against the 1.5-or-fewer share of 2025 completions (CHARS).
Calculation. 30.3 percent of occupied homes against 4 percent of new single-family homes.
Finding. Almost a third of American households still live with one bathroom, mostly in older houses and apartments. That stock is where bathroom additions and second-bath conversions happen, and where an outage of the only toilet takes the home off service, as our breakdowns report shows.
Limitations. The comparison mixes two surveys and two universes (all occupied homes against new single-family completions). It describes the gap, not a like-for-like change.
Owner-builders still build small
Formula. 1.5-or-fewer share for owner-built against built-for-sale homes, 2025.
Calculation. Owner-built 19 percent; built for sale 1 percent.
Finding. Speculative builders design for resale and almost never finish a one-bath house. Households building for themselves, often rural and often on a budget, still do.
Limitations. Owner-built homes are a small category (50,000 in 2025), with wider sampling error.
Headline measurements
- 40 percent of new homes had 1.5 bathrooms or fewer in 1973; 4 percent in 2025.
- 32 percent of new single-family homes completed in 2025 had three or more bathrooms.
- The three-bathroom share peaked at 38 percent in 2015.
- 30 percent of existing occupied homes still have one full bathroom.
- 19 percent of owner-built homes have 1.5 bathrooms or fewer, against 1 percent of homes built for sale.
Download the data
Counts and percentage distributions for every year and all four regions. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Attribution: The Plumbing Brief.
Bathrooms in new single-family homes by region, 1973 to 2025 (CSV)
How this report was built
Methodology
Source. US Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing, annual table of number of bathrooms in new single-family houses completed, sheets for all completions, built for sale, contractor-built and owner-built, downloaded 4 October 2026. The data come from the Survey of Construction, co-funded by HUD.
Comparison data. Bathroom counts for the occupied stock from the 2023 American Housing Survey public use file (BATHROOMS), weighted, restricted to homes with at least one complete bathroom.
Derived figures. Point changes, peak year and the stock comparison are calculated by The Plumbing Brief. Percentages are Census’s published distributions, which are rounded to whole numbers.
Retrieval date. 4 October 2026.
Data limitations
- Single-family homes only. Multifamily bathroom counts are published separately and are not covered here.
- Before 1987 the top category is 2.5 or more bathrooms, so a three-plus series cannot be built for 1973 to 1986.
- Census notes that estimates before 1999 include an upward adjustment of 3.3 percent for homes built without permits.
- Published percentages are rounded to whole numbers; small year-to-year movements of one point may be rounding.
- Regional figures for small categories carry relative standard errors of 15 to 30 percent.
Source quality ranking
Tier 1. US Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing; US Census Bureau and HUD, American Housing Survey 2023.
Tier 2. None used. Tier 3. None used.
Excluded. Builder marketing surveys of buyer preferences, which measure stated wants rather than homes built.
Briefing note
The share of new single-family homes completed with one and a half bathrooms or fewer fell from 40 percent in 1973 to 4 percent in 2025, according to the Census Bureau’s Characteristics of New Housing, while the share with three or more bathrooms rose from 12 percent in 1987 to a peak of 38 percent in 2015 and stood at 32 percent in 2025. The existing stock has not followed: 30 percent of occupied US homes still have a single full bathroom, according to an analysis of the 2023 American Housing Survey by The Plumbing Brief.
Story angles
- The death of the one-bathroom new home
- A third of new houses now have three bathrooms or more
- How much more plumbing goes into a new house than in 1973
- Forty million homes still share one bathroom
- Owner-builders are the last to build one-bath homes
Questions about the measurements
How many bathrooms do new homes have? In 2025, 33 percent of new single-family homes had 2 bathrooms, 30 percent had 2.5 and 32 percent had 3 or more. Only 4 percent had 1.5 or fewer.
Do new homes have more bathrooms than in the past? Yes. In 1973, 40 percent of new homes had 1.5 bathrooms or fewer, against 4 percent in 2025.
When did new homes have the most bathrooms? The three-plus share peaked at 38 percent in 2015.
How many US homes have only one bathroom? About 40.3 million occupied homes, 30 percent, had one full bathroom in 2023 (AHS).
Which region builds the most bathrooms? In 2025: Northeast 37 percent, Midwest 23 percent, South 32 percent, West 35 percent of new homes had three or more.
Does this include apartments? No. The series covers new single-family houses only.
How to cite this report
The Plumbing Brief, “Bathrooms in New Homes, 1973 to 2025: How America Built Its Way Out of the One-Bath House”, https://theplumbingbrief.com/bathrooms-in-new-homes/, accessed [date].
Last reviewed: 2026-10-04.
