Both can be narrow urban homes, which makes the terms look interchangeable. They actually answer different architectural questions.
Written by Ryan Roberts
Ryan Roberts is a New Orleans real estate agent focused on shotgun homes and historic residential property.
What is the core difference?
Shotgun identifies plan and proportion; row house identifies attachment and group arrangement. The National Register documentation for Lewis Terrace defines a rowhouse as an individual dwelling sharing party walls with its neighbors, with three or more units forming a row.
New Orleans HDLC defines the simplest shotgun as one room wide and three to five rooms deep, with rooms opening one to the next. A detached New Orleans single can therefore be a shotgun and not a row house. The New Orleans house-styles guide compares row and townhouse relationships with the city's other residential forms.
| Question | Shotgun house | Row house |
|---|---|---|
| What defines it? | Linear plan and narrow form | Shared walls in a continuous row |
| Usually attached? | Often detached; doubles share one center wall | Yes, interior units share two side walls |
| Typical height | Often one story, with variants | Often two or more stories, but not always |
| Side windows | Common on detached examples | Usually absent on interior row units |
| Can categories overlap? | Yes | Yes, when a shotgun plan is part of a row |
Is a double shotgun a row house?
Usually no. A the double form contains two side-by-side units sharing a central wall, which is closer to a paired or semi-detached arrangement than a row of three or more houses.
Local language can still call a group of shotguns a shotgun row even when the buildings are individually detached. That phrase may describe the streetscape rather than a structural rowhouse system.
Can a row house have a shotgun floor plan?
Yes. A narrow attached unit can organize rooms in a front-to-rear sequence resembling a shotgun. Houston's Project Row Houses uses the language of shotgun-style row houses for its Third Ward collection.
When the categories overlap, describe both relationships: an attached rowhouse unit with a linear shotgun plan. That is more precise than forcing one label to do all the work.
Why does the distinction matter to an owner?
Attachment changes maintenance and risk. Party walls, shared roof edges, fire separation, drainage and access may involve neighboring properties. A detached shotgun has open side walls but may have tight setbacks and limited side access.
Plan affects daily living separately: room-to-room circulation, privacy and renovation options follow the interior organization. The railroad-apartment comparison shows why a similar linear plan still does not make two building categories identical, and the parts of a shotgun facade defines the physical parts. Buyers should inspect both the physical relationships and the legal parcel, ownership and use records rather than relying on a listing label.
For any New Orleans property, pair a qualified inspection with title, survey and permit review.
Common questions about shotgun and row houses
Is a townhouse the same as a row house?
The terms overlap in common usage, but local codes, parcel boundaries and ownership structures may define them differently.
Are row houses always brick?
No. Attachment defines the row; construction material and architectural style vary.
Are shotgun houses always detached?
No. Doubles share a center wall, and some linear shotgun-plan units appear within attached rows.
Key takeaways
- 01Shotgun describes plan; row house describes attachment.
- 02A double shotgun is usually a two-unit pair, not a row of three or more.
- 03A building can satisfy both descriptions.
- 04Shared-wall and circulation questions should be inspected separately.
References
- 01Building Types and Architectural Styles
New Orleans HDLC
- 02Lewis Terrace National Register nomination
National Park Service
- 03Houston: Project Row Houses
HUD USER
My methodology
Open each item to see the scope, definitions and limits behind the article.
Research date+
Municipal, federal and institutional sources were reviewed on August 31, 2026.
Comparison method+
The article separates plan, attachment, unit count and common usage rather than treating the labels as mutually exclusive.
Scope+
Party-wall rights, legal boundaries, use and condition require property-specific professional review.