In the U.S., apartments are getting smaller and smaller, meaning you might need to downsize your new home. On average, studio rentals are about 530 square feet. Efficiency apartments sit on the smaller side of this spectrum.
Shrinking apartments are likely the result of rising costs per square foot for rentals, but we’re learning to adjust. Many now look for smaller apartments on purpose, ready to give up having a separate bedroom for the benefits of living a little smaller.
While many begin their petite apartment hunt looking for a studio, it’s best to not discount an efficiency apartment. Efficiencies are like studios, but not exactly the same. However, they may be the perfect choice for your budget. Here’s what you need to know about renting an efficiency.
What is an efficiency apartment?
An efficiency apartment consists of only two separate spaces. Efficiencies combine all your traditional living spaces, except for the bathroom, into one room. Your bedroom, living room and kitchen won’t have built-in partitions.
The only doors in an efficiency apartment are the one leading into your bathroom and the one going out of the unit completely. There are many benefits of an efficiency apartment:
Tiny but mighty
Yes, they’re small and compact, but they don’t have to lack luxury. For too long, people associated small apartment size with a living space that felt cheap or poorly maintained. Actually, efficiency apartments vary in quality like any other apartment size.
It’s more about how much you pay in rent that determines how nice a place is, not the number of square feet. In some cases, you can even get more amenities by renting an efficiency in a nicer building instead of a larger apartment somewhere else.
Easy to clean
Another perk of the size of an efficiency is how easy it is to clean. With minimal square footage and only one bathroom, you can have your apartment sparkling in no time. A pack of disinfectant wipes and a broom may even be enough to do the trick, allowing you to keep valuable storage space open for things other than cleaning supplies.
Budget-friendly
Efficiency apartments are also your most budget-friendly option, in more ways than one. They’ll cost you less, on average, in rent than any other sized apartment, but that’s not all.
Having a smaller apartment means lower utility bills. You’ll have fewer rooms to light, heat and cool. Living alone means you’ll use less water, too. On average, the price of utilities in an efficiency is between $100-$150 per month. You could pay that much heating a one-bedroom apartment in the dead of winter alone, not to mention the cost of your other utilities.
Living in an efficiency apartment can allow you to cut a little bit from all your monthly bills. This can add up to some significant savings over the course of a year.
Going solo
Because of the size and layout of an efficiency apartment, you’ll most likely be living alone. There’s really no way to accommodate a roommate. You could share with a significant other, but understand that you’ll have no personal space.
Efficiencies might even feel too cramped to share with a pet. When looking for an efficiency, it’s best to fly solo.
What do efficiency apartments look like?
While the specifics will vary, efficiency apartments look like one big room and a bathroom. The kitchen is often along a wall, galley-style to stay out of the way. You may or may not get a closet, but it’s up to you to create natural divisions in the space with your interior design.
Source: Rent./Post Centennial Park
Living with a kitchenette
In addition to cramming everything but the bathroom into a single room, you may lose a little when it comes to your kitchen. Efficiency apartments may have a kitchenette, instead. By definition, this is a smaller version of a kitchen.
You may not get a full-sized fridge, and don’t expect a dishwasher. With limited space, you can lose a few appliances common in bigger apartments. However, hand-washing dishes for one isn’t a big job, and portable dishwashers do exist.
What’s the difference between a studio and an efficiency?
There’s really not a square footage difference between a studio and an efficiency apartment. It’s all about the layout when differentiating. You’ll know right when you walk into a prospective apartment whether it’s a studio or not.
“Whether you prefer to call it a studio or efficiency apartment,” writes Devon Thorsby from U.S. News & World Report, “stay focused on the specifics of the space as you shop for apartments to ensure your definition of the word matches up with the leasing agent’s.”
Even if your definitions don’t agree, if you find everything but the bathroom in a single room, you’re in an efficiency. Studios have more separation. You might not have doors on everything, but you’ll see a natural division in spaces. Your kitchen won’t be in your living room. You may even have a nook to serve as a bedroom.
Where can I find an efficiency apartment?
You’ll find efficiencies primarily in cities where apartments tend to be smaller. New York and San Francisco are prime examples, but availability isn’t limited to those densely populated spots.
If you value location over size, an efficiency apartment in your ideal part of town is a worthy tradeoff. Why move into a large apartment in an outlying neighborhood if you don’t have to? You can spare yourself a long commute, and the sense of feeling distanced from where all the action is, by cutting back on your square footage requirements.
Efficiency listings should pop up in apartment buildings all over, whether you’re looking downtown or in the suburbs. Look for newer construction if you’re having trouble finding units for rent.
Find efficiency apartments today!
Apartment complexes everywhere are acknowledging the benefits of efficiency apartments. Not only are they smaller so more fit into a single building, but they’re attractive to renters looking for affordable options. See if there are any available units where you live.
