11 charts that show how American houses have changed since the 1970s

　　11張圖表告訴你上世紀70年代以來美國住房的演變

　　Houses have been getting bigger and fancier for the last several decades, and we have the charts to prove it. Every year, the Census Bureau releases data on the characteristics of newly constructed homes, and they recently released info on houses built in 2015.

　　歷經過往幾十年的演變，美國的住房已經顯得越來越寬敞和漂亮，下面的圖表就可以佐證。美國國家統計局每年都會發布有關新建住房特點的各種數據，而最近發布的是2015年新建住房的數據。

　　We decided to take a look at how different aspects of newly completed single family houses have changed over the last several decades.

　　下面我們就來看一下美國新建的獨戶住房在過去的幾十年中是如何在各個方面不斷演變的。

　　臥室數量

　　The number of bedrooms in single-family houses has tended to increase. In 2015, about 47 percent of newly built houses had four or more bedrooms.

　　獨戶住房的臥室數量呈現增長趨勢。2015年，大約47%的新建住房擁有四個或更多臥室。

　　浴室數量

　　The number of bathrooms has also tended to go up. About 38 percent of houses completed in 2015 had at least three bathrooms.

　　浴室數量同樣呈現增長趨勢。2015年，大約38%的新建住房擁有至少三個浴室。

　　住房層數

 

　　Houses have been getting taller. About 55 percent of houses completed in 2015 have at least two stories, compared to just 23 percent in 1973.

　　住房的層數也普遍增加。2015年，大約55%的新建住房擁有至少兩層，而1973年這一比例僅為23%。

　　中位面積

　　The floor area of houses has also increased over the years. The median house built in 2015 had an area of about 2,467 square feet, about 62 percent larger than the median in 1973 of 1,525 square feet.

　　住房的面積在過往數年中同樣呈增長態勢。2015年，新建住房的中位面積約為2,467平方英尺，相較1973年的1,525平方英尺增加了62%。

　　車庫和車棚

　　As houses have gotten bigger, so have garages. The overwhelming majority of houses now have a garage big enough for at least two cars, while back in the ’70s there was more of a mix.

　　隨著住房面積的增加，車庫也變得越來越大。目前的絕大多數住房的車庫都至少能容納兩輛車，而在上世紀70年代車庫的情況則顯得更為參差不齊。

　　空調

　　Air conditioning has become much more common. Just under half of new houses in 1973 had air conditioning, while by 2015 about 93 percent did.

　　空調的使用已經變得極為普遍。2015年，93%的新建住房配備有空調，而1973年只有不到半數的新建住房配備了空調。

　　供暖系統類型

　　Most houses built since the ’70s have forced-air heating systems, but since the turn of the century or so, heat pumps have become more popular.

　　上世紀70年代的住房大多使用強制送風采暖系統，而自2000年左右以來，人們開始更普遍地使用熱泵采暖。

　　采暖燃料類型

　　Nearly all homes are heated with either gas or electricity, and the balance between those two has shifted over the years.

　　現在，幾乎所有住房都使用燃氣或電力采暖，而兩者的使用比例在過去數年內發生了不小的變化。

　　壁爐

　　Fireplaces had a big moment in the 1980s: In 1989, about 2/3 of newly built houses had at least one fireplace. By 2015, that had fallen to just under half of new homes.

　　上世紀80年代是壁爐使用的高峰期。1989年，三分之二的新建住房中擁有至少一個壁爐。而在2015年，只有不到一半的新建住宅擁有壁爐。

　　主要外墻材料

　　While brick and stucco have maintained their modest popularity as external wall materials, wood has fallen out of favor, replaced by other materials, mostly vinyl siding and fiber cement.

　　盡管磚和灰泥仍然在外墻材料中普遍使用，但木質外墻材料已經淡出了舞臺，取而代之的是諸如乙烯基壁板和纖維水泥等其它材料。

　　中位面積

　　Basements and crawl spaces have become less common since the ’70s, while slab foundations have become more popular.

　　上世紀70年代以來，地下室和管線夾層在住房中的使用逐漸減少，而相較之下，板式地基得到了更為廣泛的使用。