SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Kaylee Hrisoulas and her partner, who have opposite schedules, live in a midtown apartment without a bedroom.
The arrangement is difficult at times.
“We do sacrifice sharing a small space as a couple,” Hrisoulas said. “When I have therapy once a week, he can’t come in the kitchen until I’m done to make dinner or get a drink. We’d both love to get a dog and also a king size bed, but we’re afraid it will be too crammed. In the mornings I basically get dressed for work in the dark so I don’t disturb him sleeping. And he’s limited in how much he can do when he gets home from work as I’m sleeping.”
Sacramento was the 20th most expensive rental market in the United States in December, according to Apartment List data published in early January. The typical apartment in the four-county Sacramento region rented for $1,748. That’s higher than Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
Unable to afford that as a nonprofit employee, Hrisoulas rented her 585-square-foot studio from Capital Area Development Authority for roughly $1,100 a month in 2022, she said. The rent has since risen to roughly $1,300.
As rent has risen, Sacramento residents have increasingly chosen to live in very small apartments.
The number of occupied studio—or “no bedroom”—housing units nearly doubled from 2013 through 2023, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
The four-county region featured about 23,500 occupied zero-bedroom housing units in 2023, representing about 2.6 percent of the area’s occupied housing stock. A decade earlier, there were about 12,700 occupied studio apartments in the region, or about 1.6 percent of the area’s occupied housing, census data show.
About 64 percent of the region’s zero-bedroom homes have a single occupant. About 20 percent have two occupants, including Hrisoulas and her partner. The other roughly 16 percent have three or more occupants, sometimes including families living in very tight quarters.
Nationwide, the number of occupied zero-bedroom homes grew by about 60 percent from 2013 through 2023—not quite as fast as growth in the Sacramento area. Statewide, the number of occupied zero-bedroom homes grew by about 70 percent from 2013 through 2023—again, not quite as fast as growth in the Sacramento area.
Sacramento developer John Vignocchi said developers including himself are building more studios because there was a shortage of them to begin with.
“Studios aren’t actually any more profitable than other unit types,” Vignocchi said. “It’s inexpensive to add bedrooms because you’re not adding kitchens or bathrooms, which are the most costly part of a unit. They’re a great entry point for younger renters, or lower income renters. For example a tenant can rent a studio for $1,500. Sure it’s small, and has a high price per square foot, but it’s $200 to $500 less than a one bedroom in the same building or around town.”
Who’s Living in Studios?
Nearly 90 percent of zero-bedroom housing units were occupied by renters in 2023, census data show. About 42,000 people lived in the region’s zero-bedroom homes in 2023. The homes tend to attract young adults. About one-third of people in zero-bedroom homes were between the ages of 18 and 34.The median household income of residents in zero bedroom homes was $35,000, well below the regionwide median of $95,000 for all households.
Among the region’s largest communities, zero-bedroom housing is most common in Arden Arcade, Sacramento, West Sacramento, Carmichael, and Woodland. At least 3 percent of housing units in each of those places feature no bedrooms.
More than 80 percent of the region’s zero-bedroom homes were part of a multifamily structure, with a high proportion located in large complexes, census data show. About 80 percent of zero-bedroom homes were part of a duplex, triplex or apartment complex. The other 20 percent were detached, very small, standalone homes, such as ADUs or tiny homes.
The median monthly rent for zero-bedroom homes in the Sacramento region during 2023 was about $1,300, census data show.
In desirable midtown and downtown Sacramento, studios rent for much more.
SKK Developments built a five-story story apartment complex called Eleanor H16, which opened in 2020, in a former midtown parking lot. It includes studio, one and two-bedroom apartments, including access to a rooftop, parking garage and gym. The website advertises studio apartments for rent between $1,470 and $1,710 a month. They are between 501 and 570 square feet.
