The size of an average US bathroom is increasing rapidly and has tripled over the past ten years. Let’s have a look at the standard size and dimensions of American bathrooms today.
When first asked to think about how big the average American bathroom is, it is likely you may also wonder, “How many things can be done in there?”. Using the facility, washing your hands, and bathing are all obvious activities, but how can teenagers possibly spend so much time in there? And exactly how big is a standard bathroom in the USA?
If you’re thinking about installing a new bathroom then before you do anything else, you will need to think about what type of bathroom you want, and how large it needs to be. In order to decide what your home needs and what it can support, you need to understand a little bit about dimensions. Listed below are some common bathroom sizes and dimensions to simplify the process for you.
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How large is the average bathroom?
For an apartment or a smaller home, an average-sized bathroom is about 36-40 square feet. This size includes ¾ baths as well as full baths, and these dimensions would give you just enough room for a shower, bath, sink, and toilet. Depending on how large the property is, bigger homes tend to have bathrooms around 40-100 square feet.
Common bathroom size layouts
Generally, the smallest bathroom size you will find is 15 square feet, which is large enough for a sink and toilet. At least 30-36 square feet is needed if a shower is going to be installed, and for a full bath, a minimum size of 40 square feet is required. Small, medium and large common bathroom size layouts are shown below.
3×5(15 square ft)
3×6 (18 square ft)
4×4 (16 square ft)
4×6 (24 square ft)
6×6 (36 square ft)
6×10 (60 square ft)
6×12 (72 square ft)
7×7 (49 square ft)
8×8 (64 square ft)
9×6 (54 square ft)
9×8 (72 square ft)
9×7(63 square ft)
10×12 (120 square ft)
Master bathroom dimensions
Generally, the master bathroom is a home is a full bathroom with additional space. They are typically connected to the master bedroom hence the name. A master bathroom measuring 40 square feet would be considered small, with 40-100 square feet as average, and 110-200 square feet and beyond as large.
Full bathroom sizes
A full bathroom contains a shower, sink, bathtub, and toilet. Unless it has all of these, and the room is at least 36-40 square feet (due to size requirements for installing a shower), it is not considered a full bath. As mentioned above, 5×8, 6×10, and 10×12 (and beyond) are the respective dimensions for a small, average, and large bathroom.
Bathrooms with a shower (¾ bath)
A ¾ bath is typically a bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet. Shower sizes can vary, but generally, a 26-30 square foot bathroom is the smallest size that can fit a shower. Common dimensions for a small bathroom with a shower are 9×3 and 8×4. Medium ¾ baths tend to be around 50 square feet, and 60 square feet and beyond for larger rooms.
Bathrooms with a walk-in shower
The size of a bathroom with a walk-in shower has fairly similar dimensions to one with a regular shower. However, a bathroom that supports a walk-in shower needs to be much longer in length than one that will house a regular box shower. In a small bathroom, 36 square feet is needed to fit a walk-in shower, with 8×4 as a common size layout.
Around 36 square feet is needed for a small bathroom to accommodate a walk-in shower, with 8×4 as a standard layout. A bathroom length of approximately 4 yards is needed to fit most walk-in showers. For medium and large bathrooms with a walk-in shower, the average sizes are the same as bathrooms with a regular shower – 50 square feet and 60 square feet (and beyond) respectively.
Bathrooms without showers (half bathrooms)
Small apartments tend to have bathrooms without a shower, also known as half bathrooms. As they typically have just a sink and toilet with little room for more, they are considered powder rooms.
Generally, these bathrooms need to be at least 15 square feet. They can be larger but do not usually exceed 26 square feet as that would be big enough to install a shower. A half bathroom that large would be a waste of space. Typically, small, medium, and large half bathrooms are 15, 18-20, and 26 square feet in size, respectively.
Handicapped bathrooms
Bathrooms that are accessible to handicapped users need to be at least 15 square feet or 3×5. The size of the bathroom is not as important as making sure there is space for a wheelchair to move without getting stuck. For this, the room needs to be at least 5 feet wide and the doorway should be at least 32-36 inches or 2.5 feet wide.
The sink in an accessible bathroom should be no higher than 36 inches from the floor, with no more than 2 inches between the sink and the counter edge. The toilet must be 17-19 inches from the floor and the handle no more than 44 inches from the floor. It is also necessary to have grab rails installed in bathrooms accessible to handicapped users.