The Biggest Home in Each State That Will Stun You (2024)

Home Pro Architecture & Design

Check out the biggest houses by square footage in the U.S. The biggest ones might surprise you.

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Biltmore Estate, North Carolina

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, is the largest home in the U.S. and comes in at a staggering 175,000 square feet. That’s nearly 70,000 square feet more than the next biggest home in the U.S.

The estate was built for the Vanderbilt family, which built its fortune through railroads, and had 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. It was officially opened in 1895, six years after construction started. In 1930, the estate opened to the public and is now the top tourist attraction in Asheville.

Living there must have been like living in one of these 50 incredible castles.

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Oheka Castle, New York

Otto Kahn built the 109,000-square foot Oheka Castle on Long Island from 1914-19 for a cost at that time of $11 million, roughly $158 million in today’s dollars. Kahn was a financier whose work included reorganizing railroads.

Now a luxury hotel, the castle includes a golf course and used to have a private airstrip. Exterior shots of Oheka Castle even appeared in the classic film “Citizen Kane.”

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Gray Towers Castle, Pennsylvania

Modeled after medieval Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England, Gray Towers Castle was built for sugar magnate William Welsh Harrison and designed by architect Horace Trumbauer.

At 66,341 square feet, Grey Towers s the 18th largest house in the U.S. The castle became part of the Arcadia University campus in 1929, and its once-regal bedrooms are now used as student housing! The castle is rumored to have been built without a single nail and there are several stories of it being haunted.

These 100 super scary home inspector nightmare photos will stop you cold in your tracks.

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Winterthur, Delaware

The third-largest home in the U.S. is in one of the smallest states, Delaware. Clocking in at 96,582 square feet, Winterthur was built for the du Pont family and was completed in 1932.

Avid art collector and horticulturist Henry Francis du Pont donated the mansion and collections to the state in 1951. It’s now the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, and houses one of the most important collections of early American arts and crafts. The museum is spread over 175 period-rooms and sits on nearly 1,000 acres of grounds and naturalistic gardens.

If you’re gardening in a slightly smaller space, check out the best plants for container gardening.

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Versailles, Florida

Nope, not the French Versailles, though this soon-to-be-completed Florida megamansion is modeled after the famous French chateau. The long-term project of Westgate Resorts founder David Siegel and his wife Jackie, Versailles has been under construction since 2004!

Once completed, the lakefront estate in Orange County will measure more than 100,000 square feet, and feature three indoor pools, a bowling alley, a skating rink, a movie theater and at least 14 bedrooms.

Check out the other expensive properties in the U.S. on the market.

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Shadow Lawn (Wilson Hall), New Jersey

This 130-room building covers 90,000 square feet in New Jersey once served as the site of Woodrow Wilson’s summer home. It became part of Monmouth University in 1956 and was featured in the film Annie.

For those thinking a little less presidential about a summer home, check out some amazing cabins you have to see to believe.

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Pensmore, Missouri

This 72,000-square foot behemoth was constructed as a tornado-proof, bomb-proof, earthquake-proof home. It’s built with insulated concrete form and called Chateau Pensmore. It’s located near Ozark, Missouri and Steven Huff, an astrophysicist, built it to withstand an EF-5 tornado with reinforced steel referred to as helix, into the concrete, which should bend rather than break in the event of a tornado. For a more practical solution to prepare for a tornado, try researching a storm shelter.

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The One, California

Iconic Hearst Castle used to top the list of California’s largest homes, but it’s been usurped. The One, a newly-completed 100,000 square-foot mega-mansion built by real estate mogul Nile Niami, is expected to sell for at least $340 million. That will make it the U.S’s largest and most expensive home.

With its futuristic design, The One will feature 20 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms, and five swimming pools, plus a movie theater, 50-car garage and a private nightclub!

You can add square footage to your house, just maybe on a smaller scale.

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The Breakers, Rhode Island

Another project of the Vanderbilt family, The Breakers in Rhode Island measures 62,482 square feet. The Italian Renaissance-style home features marble imported from Italy and Africa.

The 70-room mansion became a National Historic Landmark in 1994 but until recently, heirs of the Vanderbilt family lived in a third-floor “apartment” (the third floor is actually eight bedrooms). Today, the estate is the most-visited tourist attraction in Rhode Island.

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Meadow Brook Hall, Michigan

Matilda Dodge Wilson, the wealthy widow of automotive giant John Dodge, and her second husband, Alfred Wilson, built this 88,000 square foot home in the Rochester Hills area north of Detroit.

Constructed between 1926 and 1929, the Tudor revival-style residence has 110 rooms, sits on 1,500 acres and cost nearly $4 million at the time it was built. Today it’s part of Oakland University and is still filled with much of the Wilsons’ priceless art collection.

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Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, Ohio

There’s a lot of money in tires. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company co-founder F. A. Seiberling built this sprawling country house for his family in Akron, Ohio.

Built between 1912 and 1915, the home was modeled on English country estates—its name is an Old English form of “stone quarry”, in homage to the former quarry it was built on. In the 1950s, the surviving Seiberling children donated the house to a non-profit, which now runs it as a historic mansion museum.

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Castle Hill, Massachusetts

Castle Hill, a 56,881-square-foot Stuart-style mansion sits on the 2,100-acre Crane Estate in Ipswich, Massachusetts, on a site whose history is linked to the arrival of the first British colonists.

The Crane family gained wealth from manufacturing brass goods and plumbing supplies and bought the property, which included five miles of shoreline, in 1910. The family donated much of the property to The Trustees of Reservations in 1945 and today it’s open for tours.

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Nottoway, Louisiana

Down in Louisiana, this plantation house built in a Greek Revival style covers 53,000 square feet and dates back to 1859. John Hampden Randolph, a sugar planter, had the home built and made sure that it would remain a one-of-a-kind home by destroying the plans following its construction. It’s now a luxury hotel and a popular wedding venue.

Before you do any work to your home make sure you pick out a contractor who will follow the plan to a T.

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Chateau Montagel, Alabama

Chateau Montagel was a dream home for Larry House, the former CEO of a medical supplier, MedPartners, in Alabama. The 54,400-square foot home on 27 acres was built in 1997, with historic French and Italian castles in mind.

It took four years to build and includes some quirks. The driveway is shaped like a guitar, there’s a commercial elevator and a theater with a 170-inch screen. The home last sold for $4.8 million in 2017, well below its $12 million assessed value.

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Hala Ranch, Colorado

The 95-acre Hala Ranch in Colorado boasts 56,000 square feet and 15 bedrooms in the main house, overlooking the Rocky Mountains. It once held the distinction of being the most expensive property in the U.S. when it had a price tag of $135 million in 2006.

John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire purchased the ranch in 2012 for $49 million from Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former ambassador to the U.S. Bin Sultan bought the land for the house in 1989 and completed the house two years later.

The property has its own wastewater treatment plant and we’re not talking a septic tank, though you might be surprised to know how a septic tank works.

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Chase Mansion, Connecticut

Arnold Chase’s mansion in Connecticut contains a 33,000-square foot basem*nt that features a 103-seat movie theater, ticket booth, concession stand, game room and a music room, according to an Associated Press story. That basem*nt holds much of the total 51,000 square feet of the mansion.

Get out of the basem*nt and bring the theater outside so you can feel fancy, too.

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1299 Via Tivoli, Nevada

The total square footage of 1299 Via Tivoli in Henderson, Nevada is just under 40,000 square feet. It was completed in 2010 for eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and has 25 bathrooms, 33 bedrooms as well as two exercise rooms. There is also a 35-foot climbing wall, a vast pool and a racquetball court. Oh, there is space to fit 10 people for dining … in the wine cellar.

We’ve got a pretty neat idea of where to keep your wine stash.

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Courtesy of Fernando Maclen

Oak Hall, Maine

The property, referred to as Oak Hall, Cobe Estate and Cariad, has sat on the shores of Penobscot Bay in Northport, Maine, since 1913. It was designed by Marshall & Fox as a summer home for Ira Cobe. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The 20,000-square foot home and 13-acre lot sold for $1.84 million in June 2020, according to Zillow.

Bring the water to you with a great-looking backyard waterfallor if you’re more of a pond person, take a peek at some pond ideas.

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Chateau Bray, Texas

This one is kind of depressing. While 60,000-square foot Chateau Bray in Manvel, Texas doesn’t look so great from the outside, the interior is even worse — it’s 46 bedrooms and 36 bathrooms are completely empty.

Houston doctor Ulysses W. Watkins started building two mansions in Manvel, Texas, outside of Houston, but one was never completed. The house has changed hands a few times but is still a work in progress.

Make sure you know the zoning and building codes before you start building a mansion.

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Springville, Utah

Built in 2010, this 49,568-square foot home set on 75 acres in Utah has a measly six bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. There’s also an indoor pool with a waterfall, an indoor shooting range and an indoor basketball court, making this a year-round playground for sporty types. It last listed for $35 million, but no word on the final sale price.

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Xanadu 2.0, Washington

It’s no surprise that the largest home in Washington State belongs to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.

Their 66,000-square-foot, Pacific-lodge style retreat just outside Seattle is named Xanadu 2.0. As you’d expect, it’s smart-wired throughout, with its own server, an indoor pool with an underwater sound system, and a 2,500-square-foot gym.

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Illinois Governor’s Mansion

As the name suggests, the Illinois Governor’s Mansion is the governor’s residence in Springfield, Illinois. Constructed in 1855, it’s the third-oldest governor’s residence in the U.S. and draws on the Classical Revival style for its 45,000 square feet. It’s gone through several renovations and is currently the home of Governor J.B. Pritzker, though the public is allowed to visit.

Check out these 17 smart renovation tips so your project doesn’t run $15 million.

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Marland Mansion, Oklahoma

Oil baron E.W. Marland once controlled ten percent of the world’s oil supply. He wanted to build a palace to reflect his vast wealth, and that’s what he did at Marland Mansion in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Built in the Mediterranean Revival style, the 43,561-square foot mansion includes 55 rooms, ten bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, seven fireplaces and a kitchen for each meal. Normally, we’ve got trouble fitting everything into our kitchen. The mansion is now a museum of art and architecture.

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Asherwood, Indiana

Mel Simon, who once owned the Indiana Pacers basketball team, built this 51,267-square foot home in 1999. It included its own 18-hole golf course on the 106 acres in Carmel, Indiana. In 2017 Simon’s widow, Bren Simon, donated the estate to a performing arts center, which plans to use it to house the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame Museum.

Full golf course in your backyard? Probably not, but maybe a putting green. Check out 19 crazy backyard putting greens.

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Walker McCune Mansion, Arizona

Once home to Hormel Foods heir Geordie Hormel, this 52,000-square foot home once cost him $11,000 a month for electricity. The home takes its name from Penzoil heir Walker McCune, who built it in the 1960s.

It includes a 150-seat theater, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a beauty salon. Hormel died in 2006 and the home took quite some time to sell. Zillow currently values it at $8.1 million.

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North Wales, Virginia

North Wales is on the market once again. The 38,500-square-foot stone manor house dates back to 1776 and has been thoughtfully expanded during the last few decades.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 1,471-acre property is for sale again — it’s now listed at $29.95 million.

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Norton Manor, Maryland

Once the largest home in Maryland, the Government House in Annapolis has been bumped off its pinnacle by Norton Manor, a 47,000-square-foot modern mansion in Potomac, Maryland.

Home to philanthropists Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman, the 14-bedroom, 23-bathroom estate was completed in 2013 and has hosted President Joe Biden — appropriate, since the design was inspired by The White House.

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Longview Estate, New Hampshire

On its own private promontory on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee, Longview Estate’s combined 63,000 square feet make it the Granite State’s largest.

Built by New Hampshire International Speedway founder Bob Bahre and his wife, Sandra, the main house has seven bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, 15 fireplaces, and two elevators. It once listed for $49 million but sold in 2019 for a paltry $5.6 million. Times are hard!

Find out other things around the house that aren’t as they appear.

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Stowe, Vermont

It won’t just be the square footage of this Vermont home that will knock you out. The 8,150-square foot home owned by former beer distributor Stephen Levin is filled with American folk art.

Outside on the 85 acres are go-karting trails, a miniature golf course and a zip line. The downside, the ½-mile driveway to the main gate and then up another road to get the mail. It’s on the market for $12 million.

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Fayetteville, Georgia

This Georgia house is large enough to house the heavyweight champion of the world and the ego of a rapper. The Fayetteville, Georgia home that tops 44,234 square feet, has 109 rooms and two swimming pools.

It’s now owned by rapper Rick Ross and before that it belonged to Evander Holyfield. Ross bought the property for $5.8 million back in 2014. In late 2020, he purchased another 87 acres next door — maybe to build a guesthouse?

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Bloomfield Place, Kentucky

Bloomfield Place in Lexington, Kentucky comes in at 24,252 square feet on 11 acres. The construction took place from 1997 to 2000 and used Indiana limestone to construct the five-bedroom, five half-baths, five full-baths, a 900-square foot kitchen, a home theater and much more. It last sold for $4 million.

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Ramsey Mansion, Mississippi

Financier J. Edgar Monroe built this Mississippi home back in 1963 as an 11,000-square-foot ode to his Gatsby-style home in Rhode Island. The footprint of the home expanded by more than double to 25,000 square feet after Charles Ramsey bought it in 1993.

He added two wings to the house to make it a 15-bed, 19-bath mansion on 8 acres. Now for the bad news. The home, named the Ramsey Mansion, was struck by lightning in 2019 and completely destroyed. The lot is now for sale for $4.5 million.

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Spirit of Avalon, Kansas

Wow, just wow. Currently, on the market for $10,900,000, this 18,000 square-foot Lake Quivira home is both the biggest and the most expensive in Kansas.

The custom-built home, created for scuba-diving enthusiasts, has a 35-foot deep pool with underwater caves and tunnels, plus cliffs for diving.

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Santa Fe, New Mexico

Nestled in the hills north of Santa Fe, this 14,000-square foot home built in 2006 offers 13 different fireplaces and reclaimed wood throughout — but much to our surprise, no pool. It was last listed for $9.4 million, down from an original asking price of $13.65 million.

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McMurry Mansion, Wyoming

This 25,000-square foot home in Wyoming stands as the largest in the state. Built by Susie McMurry and her late husband, oil and gas Barron Mick, it has just four bedrooms and eight baths but it’s set on a nearly eight-acre lot.

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James J. Hill House, Minnesota

Railroad magnate James J. Hill built this 36,000-square foot mansion in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota. It features 13 bathrooms, 22 fireplaces, 16 chandeliers and had some of the most innovative heating systems in the world at the time when construction began in 1888. Now a museum, the James J. Hill House is a tribute to Gilded Age architecture and design.

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Ellison Bay Manor, Wisconsin

This 43-room, 35,000-square-foot house in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin was sold in 2016 for $2.7 million, slightly down for the price of $20 million paid for it in 2005. It features a movie theater, along with a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom.

Zillow now assesses it at around $600,000 — shocking considering its former valuations. Maybe it’s a fixer-upper now?

Find out the best and worst projects to improve the resale value of your home.

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota

This home’s a playground of sorts with a slide from the living room to the basem*nt for kids. The 13,000-square-foot home in Sioux Falls doesn’t stop there with a music stage for the kids, a bouncy floor kids room, Skee-Ball, pool table and shuffleboard inside the seven-bedroom, 11-bath house.

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Fargo, North Dakota

This 18,000-square-foot house in Fargo, North Dakota feels like a spa with an indoor pool, hot tub, steam room and a dry sauna. There’s also a movie theater with 16 recliners as wells as six bedrooms and ten baths.

Zillow currently has it valued at around $1.5 million.

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Shelter Island Estate, Montana

Set on a 22-acre private island on Flathead Lake in Kalispell, Montana, the Shelter Island Estate is in a class of its own. The main house is more than 24,000 square feet with another 10,000 square feet of heated porticos and outdoor entertaining space.

Among the amenities are an indoor shooting range and a 5,289-square-foot boathouse. It’s asking price dropped from an astonishing $78 million to $13.9 million before it sold in 2018 for an undisclosed price.

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Amway House, Idaho

With 13 bedrooms and 13 baths, this Idaho home is mammoth. The 28,469-square-foot mansion was built by the Puryear family, who made their fortune in their Amway business.

The surviving family members wanted to turn the mansion into a bed and breakfast but instead sold it in 2020 for somewhere around $5 million.

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Morrow Mansion, Oregon

Morrow Mansion in Salem, Oregon spans 21,000 square feet on nearly ten acres. There’s even a 1,600-square-foot party room with a bar and a dance floor. The residence has nine bedrooms, two guest apartments, 15 bathrooms and 11 fireplaces. And it can all be yours for just under $4 million.

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Iolani Palace, Hawaii

The palace that served as the home for Hawaiian royalty has a staggering 42,600 square feet. Construction began in 1879 and completed in 1882. It is one of the most uniquely designed palaces in the world and its style is known as American Florentine. It housed the first electric lights in Hawaii. Today it’s a top tourist attraction in Honolulu.

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Calhoun Mansion, South Carolina

The ballroom inside the 24,000-square-foot Calhoun Mansion in Charleston, South Carolina is breathtaking with its 45-foot-high ceiling. The mansion has a total of 35 rooms with 14-foot-high ceilings and was built in 1876. There are also 23-period fireplaces in the mansion.

With that many fireplaces, one better know how to start a fire in a fireplace.

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Fort Smith, Arkansas

For a house that will really impress, check out this 18,367-square-foot mansion in Arkansas. Currently listed for $10,900,000, it even has an indoor treehouse.

But if you’re more of a traditionalist when it comes to treehouses check out these amazing DIY treehouses.

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Omaha, Nebraska

Spread out in Omaha, Nebraska with this six-bed, 13-bath mansion that has 23,188 square feet of space. There are 31 rooms and a 10,600-square-foot finished basem*nt, plus a resort-style swimming pool.

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Villa Collina, Tennessee

The massive Villa Collina mansion in Knoxville, Tennessee has 40,000 square feet set on eight acres. The 86-room home was built in the 1990s and has eight bedrooms, 11 full baths and five half-bathrooms — the master suite alone is said to have cost $5 million. The house sold in late 2020 for a neat $11 million.

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Peace Harbor, Iowa

With 24,000-square feet on the west part of Lake Okoboji in western Iowa, this stunning home was initially on the market for $12.9 million. There are nine bedrooms, 16 baths, six fireplaces and 178 feet of lakeshore, plus — get this — an actual Irish pub. Bargain hunters, take heart. The price was lowered to $9.9 million.

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Second Star, Alaska

In Homer, Alaska, this whimsical house on Kachemak Bay has been likened to Peter Pan’s Neverland — it’s awash with fairytale elements, including a game room, a spa with a Turkish bath, plus a kids’ room with a wooden bridge, a pirate ship bed and hidden play areas.

Currently, a luxury vacation rental, the 17,000-square-foot home is listed for $8 million. If it sells for anywhere near that, it will be Alaska’s most expensive home — in addition to its largest.

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Charleston, West Virginia

This mountaintop home is listed for $13 million outside of Charleston, West Virginia and includes eight bedrooms, 14 baths and 19,000 square feet. Built in 2000, it also features an extensive wine cellar, a tennis court and a fitness center.

See how to get rid of that exercise bike that has an inch of dust on it by now.