Builders and buyers do not agree on where laundry belongs, and the gap between them is bigger than most people expect. In 2023, 72 percent of new homes were built with laundry connections on the first floor and 26 percent on the second floor or higher, according to U.S. Census data cited by the National Association of Home Builders. But when NAHB separately asked buyers where they actually want their laundry, only 60 percent chose the first floor, 17 percent wanted the basement, 15 percent wanted the garage, and just 7 percent wanted the second floor. Builders are defaulting to a placement a meaningful share of buyers do not actually prefer, which is exactly why this decision generates so much regret after move-in.
Why the placement is so hard to get right
Laundry sits at the intersection of three different traffic patterns that rarely line up conveniently. Clothes come from the bedrooms. Dirty, heavy work comes in through the garage. And the person doing laundry is often already in or near the kitchen managing something else at the same time. A placement that serves one of those patterns well usually shortchanges the other two.
Five placements, rated honestly
Off the primary suite. This is the placement that removes the most daily walking for most households, since it puts laundry closest to where the largest volume of it originates.
The Allium Plan and the Amaranth Plan both place the laundry room with direct access from the primary suite, which is a real, workable version of this layout rather than a hypothetical. The tradeoff is that laundry from other bedrooms still has to travel across the house, and a guest doing a load of towels is walking through your private suite to get there.
Off the mudroom or garage entry. This placement makes sense on paper, since it is the entry point for the dirtiest laundry, sports gear and work clothes. It works well for households that prioritize catching mess right at the door. The tradeoff is that it is often the farthest point in the house from the bedrooms, which adds walking for the majority of loads that do not originate at the garage door.
Central, near the kitchen. This placement keeps laundry within reach of whoever is already circulating through the main living area during the day. It works well for single-level living where every bedroom is roughly equidistant. The tradeoff is noise, since a washer and dryer running next to a kitchen or living space is audible during conversation, television, or work calls, which is why sound-dampening details matter more here than in any other placement.
Upstairs, central to the bedrooms. In a two-story home, this placement shortens the walk from every bedroom, which is the entire rationale behind it. It works especially well for households doing frequent, small loads rather than infrequent, large ones. The tradeoff is the risk of a supply line leak on the occupied floor rather than a slab, which is why a leak-detection shutoff valve is worth the modest added cost in this specific placement.
In the basement. This placement removes laundry from the main living levels entirely, which some households want and others actively dislike. It works well when the basement is already a utility zone with mechanical equipment. The tradeoff is the most walking of any placement on this list, and it is the placement builders offer least often relative to how often buyers say they want it, per the NAHB data above.
The placement that looks efficient and fails in practice
The one that causes the most regret is not on this list because it is one of the five options. It is a sixth pattern: laundry placed centrally on a floor plan diagram because it looks tidy and space-efficient, without being tested against how the household's actual daily path moves through the house. A placement chosen for how it looks on paper, rather than for the walk from the primary suite, the walk from the garage, and the noise it puts next to a living space, is the one that reliably disappoints, regardless of which of the five zones it technically sits in.
How to actually decide
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Walk your current house's laundry routine and count the steps from where clothes originate to where the machine sits
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Consider who does the laundry and where they are already spending time during the day
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If you are choosing a central or main-level placement, ask what sits on the other side of that wall, and whether the noise will bother that room
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If you are choosing an upstairs placement, confirm a leak-detection shutoff valve is included
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Match the placement to your household's real pattern, not the placement that looks most efficient on the floor plan
See our most popular plans and check where the laundry sits in each one against your own household's actual routine.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the most common place to put a laundry room?
The first floor, in 72 percent of new homes built in 2023, according to U.S. Census data cited by the National Association of Home Builders. Second floor or higher accounts for 26 percent, with the basement, garage, and other locations making up the remainder.
Do most buyers actually want laundry on the first floor?
A slim majority do. NAHB's buyer preference survey found 60 percent want first-floor laundry, while 17 percent prefer the basement and 15 percent prefer the garage, notably more than the roughly 1 percent of homes actually built with laundry in either location.
Is an upstairs laundry room a bad idea?
Not inherently. It significantly shortens the walk from bedrooms in a two-story home. The main risk is a supply line leak on an occupied floor, which is manageable with a leak-detection shutoff valve.
Should the laundry room be near the kitchen?
It can work well, particularly in single-level homes, but noise is the real tradeoff. A washer and dryer running next to a kitchen or living space is audible, so sound dampening is worth planning for in this placement specifically.
What is the biggest laundry room placement mistake?
Choosing a location because it looks efficient on the floor plan diagram rather than testing it against how the household actually moves through the house day to day, including who does the laundry and where the dirtiest loads originate.
