What is a mansion?

Everybody has an idea of what a mansion is, but when does a really nice house become a mansion? Where’s the line? How do we identify what really qualifies as a mansion?

Of course, people associate mansions with grand staircases, giant entertainment centers, perhaps a cavernous basement full of gold coins that a miserly old duck swims in. Mansions are status symbols, sure, but they’re difficult to define. Not even real estate agents agree on the definition, even if most would look at The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island and agree that it is, indeed, a mansion.

You’ll rarely see a home listed on the open market as a “mansion” unless it’s a historic home with a name like the New York City Mayor’s residence, Gracie Mansion. It’s difficult to define what a mansion really is, but we’re going to try.

What is considered a mansion?

Luxury homes have long been a status symbol, but the term “mansion” really came into style at the turn of the 20th century, when America’s wealthiest families began building ornate, enormous homes in Newport. These homes, like The Breakers, were outright showcases of a family’s wealth and helped to lay the groundwork for how we differentiate large, luxury homes from mansions.

Generally, there are a few characteristics used to demarcate what qualifies as a mansion. Mansions are typically single-family homes that are larger than average in size, come with a lot of amenities, and sit on a large plot of land. 

Square footage

The commonly accepted minimum square footage for a mansion is 5,000 square feet of living space. However, in some locations where the average home is larger, the qualifying size may be 8,000 square feet or even more. For context, the median home in the US is 2,014 square feet.

As you can see, we already have some nuance in our mansion definition because what’s considered a mansion in one part of the country may not be in another.

Amenities

There are plenty of large houses out there, but one of the most important factors that separates a mansion from the crowd is its amenities. Just think about some of the things you saw on MTV’s Cribs: Enormous pools with waterfalls, elaborate 100-car garages, entire movie theaters, tennis or basketball courts, stables, wine cellars. Mansions are grand and should make use of their ample footprint with amenities you won’t find in a standard house.

Beyond leisure facilities, a mansion may have separate, unattached buildings on the grounds that serve as guest houses or barns. Expect common areas to be massive, kitchens to be extensive, and bathrooms to be everywhere. And everything is beautifully designed and well-appointed.

Historical significance

As we mentioned, Gracie Mansion automatically qualifies as a mansion because it was so historically named. In some parts of the country, you’ll find historical homes with grandiose names that reflect the high status (or aspiring high status) of the original owners. In others, like California, you’ll hardly hear the word mansion at all.

Here’s what else to know before buying a historic home.

Location

Mansions, or at least the use of the term, tend to be more of an East Coast thing. This reflects the fact that mansions can technically be of any architectural style or design. There’s no appearance requirement, per se, many people just tend to associate the word with more ornate, classical architecture that you’re more likely to find in older states.

That said, a mansion home in New York City may be a two-floor penthouse with a private elevator while one in Texas may be a sprawling 12,000 square-foot ranch.

Learn more about how to choose the best house location.

Mansion vs. McMansion

You may have also heard the term “McMansion” to describe particularly large homes. The term came into parlance in the late 1990s and early 2000s to describe the oversized, uninspiring homes being constructed en masse by developers on undersized lots in suburban neighborhoods. 

To be clear, McMansion is a pejorative. Playing off the “McDonald’s” ethos, a McMansion is basically an imitation or knock-off mansion.

These homes tend to qualify as mansions in square footage, but fall short in all other areas. Typically, McMansions are built out of proportion to their lots, with the home brushing closely to the property line. They substitute ostentatious entryways, ornate driveways, and multi-car garages for landscaping and elegance, looking more like a desperate cry for recognition rather than a real display of status.

McMansions tend to be built with cheap materials in unoriginal styles with lazy finishings, as if assembled by a teenager listening to Slipknot on the 2am McDonald’s shift. As such, McMansions often require considerable maintenance as they tend to break down from wear and tear far more quickly than classical stone mansions erected at the turn of the 20th century.

McMansions are often derided as tacky and gauche but, because they’re essentially cheap luxury homes, they remain quite popular in the United States. Given the ongoing housing supply shortage, it’s not hard to see why homebuyers are drawn to a great price per square foot.