Self Storage Rent Drops in Most Cities, with New Orleans, LA, and North Las Vegas, NV, Seeing the Largest Decreases

• The average self storage street rate dropped 4.6% year-over-year
• About 70% of the 150 most populous U.S. cities experienced price drops in September 2023
• New Orleans, LA, North Las Vegas, NV, and San Bernardino, CA, saw the highest rent plunges
• At the other end of the spectrum, Newark, NJ, experienced the largest increase in rent prices
• Orlando, FL, is expected to add the most storage space to its inventory in 2023

Self storage rates have been consistently decreasing in 2023, and the same trend continued into September. There are a variety of reasons for this, including the presence of a healthy storage inventory, a more challenging housing market and a reduction in relocation activity, all of which affect the demand for self storage. Specifically, the average price for a 10’x10’ non-climate-controlled storage unit was $125 in September 2023, a 4.6% drop year-over-year. Compared to last month, the street rates dropped by 2%.

New Orleans, LA, sees the largest decrease in street storage rates

New Orleans, LA, has experienced the highest decline in self storage street rates, with a reduction of 18% year-over-year. This could be attributed to factors such as migration, as the city lost close to 4% of its population between 2020 and 2022, according to U.S. Census data. In September 2023, the average rent for a storage unit in New Orleans was $155 per month.

North Las Vegas, NV, has registered the second-highest drop in storage unit rental rates, with a decrease of 14% compared to the previous year. The cost of renting a storage unit in North Las Vegas was $110 per month in September 2023.

Similarly, San Bernardino and Stockton in California have also seen a decline in their street rates, with around a 10% drop in both cities. In September 2023, the average rent for a storage unit in San Bernardino was $105 per month, while in Stockton it was $125 per month.

Newark, NJ, registers largest street rate spike, followed by Arlington, VA, and Bakersfield, CA

Newark, NJ, had the highest street rate hikes at 13.2% year-over-year. The limited availability of storage units, along with an 8% population increase over the past five years, has contributed to the steep rise in rent prices. As of September 2023, the monthly cost of renting a storage unit in Newark was $154.

Arlington, VA, had the second-highest annual rent increase in September at 9.5%. The city has a shortage of storage units, with only 1.2 square feet of storage space per person, which translates into a tight storage rental market. A storage unit in Arlington, VA, can now be rented for $253 for September.

Moving to the West Coast, Bakersfield, CA, also experienced significant street rate growth, with an 8.3% year-over-year increase. The city’s population has grown by 7% in the last five years, which has put pressure on the local storage market, thereby driving up rents. A storage unit in Bakersfield can currently be rented for $91 per month.

Moving destinations in the South top the list of 2023’s most active self storage construction markets

Orlando, FL, stands out as the top market for self storage construction development, with over 700K square feet of storage space estimated to be added to the local pipeline this year. This intense development activity is due, in part, to the increased relocation rate, as the city has seen its population swell by 12% in the last five years.

Top Cities for 2023 Expected Construction

Also in Florida, Tallahassee is scheduled to see its inventory swell by close to 324K square feet in 2023, despite already having a high provision of self storage per capita. Thanks to the warm climate, the city has maintained its status as a relocation hot spot, which continues to fuel demand for self storage and drives continuing development activity.

A popular moving destination, Texas continues to have strong activity on the self storage front. While boasting some of the largest inventories in the country, cities like San Antonio, Fort Worth and Houston are set to add several hundred thousand square feet of storage space by year-end.

Methodology

This analysis was done by RentCafe Self Storage, an online platform that provides apartment and storage unit listings across the nation.

The report analyzes self storage street rates and development in September 2023. We included the 150 most populous cities that also have a minimum of 10 self storage facilities.

For data on remote workers, we turned to the 2021 data set from the U.S. Census..

Data on self storage street rates and construction estimates for 2023 came from our sister division Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self storage sectors.

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