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TV screens in U.S. homes have grown larger, but the available data do not establish one exact national average screen size across the years. The clearest household comparison shows that 16% of the two most-used TVs in American homes were at least 60 inches in 2020, up from 7% in 2015. That is a size-band share, not an average diagonal.
What is the average TV size in America?
There is no single, well-defined figure in the available national data for the average TV screen size in America. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports the share of household TVs in size bands, rather than a precise mean diagonal. Its latest household size distribution located here is from the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), not a 2026 measurement.
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In the EIA comparison, 16% of the two most-used TVs in U.S. households measured 60 inches or larger in 2020, compared with 7% in 2015. Meanwhile, screens 39 inches or smaller made up 31% in 2020, down from 46% in 2015. These figures show a shift toward larger screens; they do not say that the average TV was a particular number of inches. EIA’s 2022 account of the 2020 RECS is based on responses from 18,496 households, with questionnaires completed in late 2020 and early 2021.
How have TV screen sizes changed over time?
From one set per home to multiple TVs
EIA’s historical account says most U.S. households had one television in 1978. By 2009, the average household had 2.5 TVs, and more than 45% of homes had at least one set with a screen size of 37 inches or larger. This describes household ownership and the presence of a larger set—not the average size of every television. EIA’s 2010 discussion of RECS data provides this context.
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Household size bands in 2015
In the 2015 RECS, EIA counted 58.1 million homes with a most-used TV in the 40–59-inch band and 9.9 million homes with a most-used TV measuring 60 inches or larger. These are counts of homes by the size of their most-used set. They are not directly interchangeable with the 2020 comparison, which reports shares for the two most-used TVs. EIA’s 2017 analysis of the 2015 RECS reports those counts.
The 2015-to-2020 shift
The comparable EIA figures show larger sets taking a greater share of household use between 2015 and 2020: the share of the two most-used TVs at least 60 inches grew from 7% to 16%, while the share measuring 39 inches or less fell from 46% to 31%. EIA also publishes home counts in size bands for the most-used, second-most-used, and third-most-used TVs in its final 2020 RECS release. Those household measures are distinct from sales or shipment data.
A separate market-side observation
In 2024, the Associated Press quoted Rick Kowalski, senior director of business intelligence at the Consumer Technology Association, saying that flat-panel TVs shipped to U.S. retailers and dealers had grown an average of one inch in size per year over the preceding 15 years. This is an industry representative’s observation about shipments, not an EIA household statistic or a measure of the TVs installed in American homes. The Associated Press report supplies this market context.
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Why “average TV size” depends on what is being counted
A household survey, a retailer shipment estimate, and a calculated mean answer different questions. EIA’s figures describe TVs in homes and distinguish the most-used sets; the AP-reported industry observation concerns flat-panel products shipped to retailers and dealers. Neither provides a continuous year-by-year national average diagonal.
- Household distribution: the proportion or number of homes with TVs in specified size bands.
- Most-used TV: a household’s primary set, which is not necessarily its only TV.
- Two most-used TVs: the pair of sets covered by EIA’s 2015-to-2020 share comparison.
- Retailer and dealer shipments: products entering the market, not a census of televisions in use at home.
Broad size bands also cannot be turned into an exact mean without assumptions about the sizes inside each band and how the TVs are weighted. For example, knowing that a set is at least 60 inches does not reveal whether it is 60, 75, or another size.
What the trend means when choosing a TV
The historical data establish that U.S. household use has shifted toward larger screens; they do not establish that one size is right for every room. A national share or shipment trend cannot tell you whether a particular screen will suit your seating distance, room layout, or budget. Treat 55 inches—or any other commonly searched product size—as a shopping option, not as a proven national average.
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