The share of new homes with decks continues to hover near historic lows while the share of homes with patios continue to climb, according to data from the HUD/Census Bureau Survey of Construction (SOC). The share of homes with decks was 17.6% in 2023. The share has remained below 18% since 2021 after never dipping below 22% from 2005 to 2018. At the same time, the share of new homes with patios has climbed to a record high of 67.7%.
In fact, the tendency of deck and patio percentages to move in opposite directions is evident throughout the 2005-2023 period. The correlation between the percentages over that span is -0.84, suggesting that patios on new homes have been functioning as a substitute for decks. When more new homes have patios, fewer have decks.
New homes with both a deck and patio do occur but are comparatively rare. Among single-family homes started in 2023, fewer than 6% featured both a deck and a patio.
Decks have been more common not only when but where patios are less common. For example, among single-family homes started in 2023, patios were least common (featured in only 17% of the homes) in the New England Census Division, the same division where a high of 76% of the homes featured decks. At the other extreme, in the West South Central a divisional high 81% of new homes featured patios in 2023, and a divisional low of 3% featured decks.
