Updated 03/28/2017

This page contains statistics about the U.S. self-storage industry compiled by The SpareFoot Storage Beat. Statistics on this page will be updated as we receive new data. If you have data that you’d like to share or have a question about data on this page, please email editor@sparefoot.com.

Largest self-storage operators (publicly traded) in the U.S. (by revenue)

  1. Public Storage: $2.56 billion (2016)
  2. Extra Space Storage: $991.87 million (2016)
  3. CubeSmart: $510 million (2016)
  4. Life Storage: $462.6 million (2016)
  5. U-Haul: $247.9 million (fiscal 2016 – self-storage revenue only)

Public Storage

Largest self-storage operators in the U.S. (by number of facilities, owned or managed)

  1. Public Storage: 2,348 (December 31, 2016)
  2. Extra Space Storage: 1,427 (December 31, 2016)
  3. U-Haul (AMERCO): 1,360 (as of March 31, 2016)
  4. CubeSmart: 791 (as of December 31, 2016)
  5. Life Storage: 659 (as of December 31, 2016)

Revenue in the U.S. self-storage industry

According to IBISworld, annual self-storage revenue was estimated to be about $32.7 billion in 2016. That figure is expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.5 percent over the next five years.

Average storage unit cost

The national average cost for all unit sizes is $87.15 per month.

The national average cost per square foot is $0.97 per month.

Below is the average national cost by unit size:

5×10: $63 per month
10×10: $96.09 per month
5×5: $45.30 per month
10×20: $137.06 per month
10×15: $123.01 per month

Click here to find average storage cost for more than 200 cities or use the links below to find storage data by state.

Average monthly construction spending on self-storage facilities

The chart below shows construction spending by month, according to the U.S. census bureau. Figures are not adjusted for inflation.

Number of self-storage facilities in the U.S.

54,009 (2015 forecast)

Amount of rentable self-storage space in the U.S.

2.63 billion square feet (2014)

Amount of self-storage space per capita in the U.S.

8.32 square feet (2014)

Percentage of U.S. households that rent a self-storage unit

9.5% (2015)

Distribution of U.S. self-storage units by size (2015)

10×10: 23.1%
10×20: 20.6%
Other: 15.6%
10×15: 14.4%
5×10: 11.3%
10×30: 6.2%
10×25: 5.3%
5×5: 3.5%

Sources

Self Storage Association
IBISWorld
Seeking Alpha
Self-Storage Almanac
Inside Self-Storage
Public Storage
Extra Space Storage
CubeSmart
Sovran Self Storage (Uncle Bob’s)
U-Haul (AMERCO)

Alexander Harris
  • Dominic Di Lello

    When you mention the statistics of sizes that people rent ie. 10×10 16%, 10×15 15.3%, is that the total sizes in a facility or square footage in a facility?

    Thanks Dominic

  • http://www.sparefoot.com John Egan

    It’s as a percentage of total units.

  • Olivia Chow

    Great overview! And thanks for all the links to the data.

  • Joshua Nicklin

    Great Info! I’d love to see more of the info in a graph spanning the past 15 years or so like the construction spending does. That is very powerful to look at as a trend! As always, valuable and interesting content Mr. Harris.

  • Nikki Zellner

    Alexander – do you happen to have a link to demographics about who is actually investing/buying storage properties. I am doing research and haven’t been able to find any key indicators on buyers.

  • Chris Cohen

    i would like to start a business helping people create functional, usable space in their units to empower them with efficiency by de-cluttering, organizing and cleaning.
    Any thoughts?

    • antonie welman

      Omg please call or text me Chris. I am a software developer. I am about to drop the H-Bomb on the self storage budiness. Come with me. 9713023737
      …i have access to the creator of Uber. Call or text me sir. I think i am EXACTLY what you are looking for.
      Antonie

  • Gale Pooley

    Nice work. Thanks for all the information.