The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people think about and live in their homes. What does “home” mean today? The America at Home study uncovered specific behavior changes as to how people live in their homes, including what they say is missing, the most important rooms in the home, new rituals and lasting routines, and what matters most in community and neighborhood amenities.
This is the only longitudinal early, peak, and post-pandemic consumer study solely focused on home and community. The results provide in-depth insights by generation, renters, and owners, and point to the profound and lasting impact all elements of wellness must have on home design. With four waves of data (stretching from 2020 to 2025), the study now includes nearly 16,000 responses.
If you’re interested in leveraging the power of this data to build a new concept home, complete this form and we’ll be in touch.
Wave 4 of the America at Home Study of 6,002 U.S. adults was fielded in April/May 2025, this time in partnership with the Housing Innovation Alliance and the University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. The responses make it clear that Americans are navigating a new housing reality driven by escalating financial concerns, causing them to make tradeoffs and look to more innovative housing solutions. Wave 4 brings the total number of consumer responses to the study — the only one of its kind — to nearly 16,000 since March 2020.
Wave 3 of the America at Home Study of 3,000 U.S. adults fielded post-pandemic in October 2022 found “home” is more important than ever, and revealed which areas of the home are most important to consumers. The survey found Americans feel less well than they did at the height of the pandemic in 2020 across multiple domains of wellness. The study tested specific wellness and sustainability technologies for consumer preference and revealed the motivators behind why they plan to spend more on specific features over others.
Wave 2 of the America at Home Study of 3,935 U.S. adults, fielded in October 2020 during the peak of the pandemic, found the behavior changes triggered early in the pandemic about how people live in their homes and communities have stuck. More than ever, home equals “a safe place.” As Americans leaned into a hybrid life, homeowners identified what was missing in their homes, and renters expressed a heightened desire to own a home — generating 11 million in potential new home demand and a clear set of tradeoffs they are willing to make to be better able to buy.
Wave 1 of the America at Home Study of 3,000 U.S. adults was launched in April 2020, believed to be the first ever consumer study at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed behavior changes consumers had made within the first three weeks into national stay-at-home mandates, suggesting home designs of the future need to be more responsive to how people want to live today. It also uncovered new routines and rituals undertaken at home and revealed the importance of outdoor spaces and community amenities to personal wellness.
Want to take a deeper dive into the insights of our study, or have an upcoming project you’d like us to consult on? Please fill out the form, and we’ll be in touch.
