The self-storage industry in the United States exhibits a robust infrastructure characterized by a significant number of facilities and a vast amount of rentable storage space. With an annual revenue of around $29 billion, the industry comprises approximately 51,206 facilities offering over 2.04 billion square feet of rentable storage space. This equates to an average of 6.1 square feet of self-storage space available per person, reflecting the industry's capacity to cater to the storage needs of households and businesses alike. The revenue generation capabilities of this sector are substantial, with an average revenue per square foot of about $14.22 per year. The market demonstrates a competitive yet fragmented ownership structure, with the lion's share of the market controlled by a collection of public companies and numerous other operators. The average revenue per facility stands at around $566,778 annually, while the average square footage per facility is close to 39,857 square feet. These figures underline the industry's economic significance and its continued role in providing essential storage solutions across the nation. The subsequent analysis delves into additional metrics such as storage space per household, average revenue per renting household, occupancy rate, and the market share of the top six public companies, offering a more nuanced understanding of the industry's dynamics and its impact on the economy.
Self Storage Statistics
- The self-storage industry in the U.S. has an annual revenue of approximately $29 billion1.
- As of recent data, there are about 51,206 storage facilities operating in the U.S1.
- The total rentable storage space in the U.S. is around 2.04 billion square feet, with an average of 6.1 square feet of self-storage space available per person1.
- About 11.1% of households in the U.S., estimated to be around 14.6 million households, currently rent a self-storage facility1.
- The average monthly cost for a self-storage unit is approximately $100.04, with the national average cost reaching a record high of $110 per month in 20221.
- The average price per square foot was $1.19 in 2022, and the costs for various storage unit sizes in 2022 were reported as follows1:
- 5×5: $55.67 ($2.23 per sq.ft.)
- 10×10: $123.61 ($1.24 per sq.ft.)
- 5×10: $80.56 ($1.52 per sq.ft.)
- 10×20: $178.14 ($0.88 per sq.ft.)
- 10×15: $158.83 ($1.05 per sq.ft.)
- 10×30: $205.53 ($0.69 per sq.ft.)
- In the last quarter of 2022, more storage tenants moved out of storage than moved in, a pattern not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The move-in/move-out (MIMO) ratio was 0.95 in December 20221.
Industry Ownership and Major Players:
- The industry ownership is fragmented with 36.6% of self-storage space (by rentable square footage) owned by six public companies, 22.4% owned by the next top 94 operators, and 41% owned by the rest of the industry1.
- The largest publicly traded storage operators in the U.S. by annual revenue are:
- Public Storage: $2.68 billion (2019)
- Extra Space Storage: $1.3 billion (2019)
- CubeSmart: $643.9 million (2019)
- Life Storage: $574.7 million (2018)
- National Storage Affiliates Trust: $387.9 million (2019)
- U-Haul: $367.3 million (fiscal 2019; self-storage revenue only)1.
Other Stats:
- There was a total of 1.9 billion square feet of storage space in operation in the U.S. with 5.9 square feet per person of self-storage space available in the U.S. market, and 10.6% of households renting a self-storage facility as of 20212.
- In 2021, self-storage facility construction spending in the U.S. dropped to $3.75 billion from its 2018 peak of $4.89 billion3.
- Despite rising debt costs, capitalization rates for self-storage remained relatively stable, averaging 5.1% in Q2 20234.
Self Storage Data Insights
- Revenue per Square Foot:
- With an annual industry revenue of $29 billion and a total rentable storage space of 2.04 billion square feet, the revenue per square foot is approximately : $29 billion / 2.04 billion sq ft) ≈ $14.22 per square foot per year.
- Revenue per Facility:
- With 51,206 storage facilities, the revenue per facility is approximately ($29 billion / 51,206) ≈ $566,778 per facility per year
- Square Footage per Facility:
- With 2.04 billion square feet of rentable storage space across 51,206 facilities, the average square footage per facility is approximately (2.04 billion sq ft / 51,206) ≈ 39,857 square feet
- Storage Space per Household:
- With 2.04 billion square feet of rentable storage space and an estimated 128.45 million households in the U.S. (based on U.S. Census data), the storage space per household is approximately (2.04 billion sq ft / 128.45 million households) ≈ 15.9 square feet
- Average Revenue per Renting Household:
- With $29 billion in annual revenue and 14.6 million households renting a self-storage facility, the average revenue per renting household is approximately ($29 billion / 14.6 million households) ≈ $1,986 per year or about $165.5 per month
- Occupancy Rate:
- If we assume an average unit size of 100 square feet (an approximation based on various unit sizes), the total number of units available is (2.04 billion sq ft / 100 sq ft/unit) = 20.4 million units.
- With 14.6 million households renting a unit, the occupancy rate is approximately (14.6 million households / 20.4 million units) ≈ 71.6%
- Market Share of Top Six Public Companies:
- The six largest publicly traded storage operators generated a combined revenue of about $5.95 billion in 2019 (based on the sum of the reported revenues). With the total industry revenue being $29 billion, the market share of these top six companies is approximately ($5.95 billion / $29 billion) ≈ 20.5%
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