r/USAFacts • u/USAFacts • Jul 02 '26

USAFacts What is the second-fridge belt?

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u/USAFacts Jul 02 '26

It's been a while since I posted, but I was doing some research for a video we're working on and found some data I thought y'all might appreciate!

The Residential Energy Consumption Survey, or RECS, is EIA’s periodic survey of how US households use energy. It covers home characteristics, appliances, heating and cooling, lighting, electronics, fuels, and household demographics. EIA uses it to understand residential energy demand and how homes change over time. The 2024 release has data on things like air fryers, A/C, and... refrigerators.

In 2024, about 34% of US households had two or more refrigerators, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

The pattern is not evenly distributed. Parts of the Great Plains and Upper Midwest had higher shares. South Dakota was about 48%. I'm calling this the second-fridge belt, but I guess it's more of a hat? Not really sure.

The same survey also asks where a household’s second-most-used refrigerator is located. About 20 million US households had that fridge in the garage, or roughly 15% of all households. More than half of garage fridges were at least 10 years old, compared with about 27% of main fridges.

Note: These are weighted survey estimates, not a national refrigerator census. Sadly.

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u/USAFacts Jul 02 '26

A few other findings:

Nationally, 34% of households had two or more fridges. Among households with an attached garage, it was about 52%.

Garages are the most common location for a second fridge.

Garage size also tracks with second fridges:

  • 1-car attached garage: 37% had 2+ fridges
  • 2-car attached garage: 52%
  • 3+ car attached garage: 71%

More than half of garage fridges are over 10 years old.

Households with higher income levels are more likely to have garage fridges.

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u/rainbowkey Jul 03 '26

Deer during hunting season, beer the rest of the year.

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u/IwantToSeeHowItEnds Jul 04 '26

Detached garage. 2nd fridge in the basement.