How average are you and your home? Take the HUD test

Updated
How average are you and your home? Take the HUD test
How average are you and your home? Take the HUD test

A just-released study from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found, among other things, that most families with young kids live within a mile of a public school, that gas is the most common way we heat our homes, and only one-third of us have working carbon monoxide detectors.

HUD's latest American Housing Survey takes a snapshot view of millions of homes. How do you and yours stack up?

  • The median age of an American home is 36 years.

  • The median size is 1,800 square feet.

  • The median lot size for a single-family home is 0.27 acres

  • Most homes (53%) have six or more rooms.

  • Most homes (64%) have three or more bedrooms and more than half have two or more bathrooms.

  • Two-thirds of homes have a dishwasher and more than 80% have a washing machine and dryer.

  • 98% of homes have a telephone; 85% have a porch, deck or patio.

  • About one-third have a working fireplace.

  • Traffic noise bothers 25% of us.

What does it all mean? Not sure, but with so many people owning their own washers and dryers, this might not be the time to invest in any laundromats and maybe we should all check our carbon monoxide detectors today.

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