Sharp Declines Dominate in East Coast and Southwest Cities, While Smaller Eastern and Southern Markets See Gains

• Self storage street rates went down 4.3% in March 2024
• 94% of the 150 most populous cities saw self storage price drops
• East Coast and Southwest cities saw the highest self storage price drops with Fayetteville, NC, and Chandler, AZ, standing out for price plunges
• Rochester, NY, and Brownsville, TX, register the highest for self storage rent increases, both below 3% year-over-year
• Philadelphia, PA, comes first for projected self storage construction, surpassing/followed by Fort Worth, TX, and Houston, TX
• A little over half of the largest 150 cities are expecting new construction in 2024

Self storage rates have been on a steady decline for about a year and a half now. As of March 2024, they’ve dipped another 4.3% compared to last year, staying flat from one month to the next. This puts the national average at $134. A mix of solid inventory levels, ongoing construction and a slower housing market — which is keeping moving activity in check — is helping to keep those rent rates down.

In 2023, 61% of the 150 most populous cities were busy building new storage spaces. This year, that’s expected to dip slightly to 55%. This pullback in construction is a direct response to the recent boom and the existing ample storage stock. With supply now catching up to demand, we’re seeing self storage rates take a dive. In fact, a whopping 94% of these cities, which amounts to 141 of them, are witnessing price drops. On the flip side, only nine cities are experiencing rent increases, and those hikes are pretty tame, below the 3% mark.

East Coast and Southwest cities see the most dramatic annual self storage rent drops

East Coast and Southwest cities are witnessing the sharpest declines in self storage rents this year, especially in places like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona. These regions have been hot spots for migration and real estate development for the past few years. Self storage has boomed along with the rest, with many cities ramping up construction to meet the growing demand. Now, with local storage inventories better equipped to handle the influx, prices are starting to drop.

Fayetteville, NC, comes on top for annual street rate plunges, registering a 11.8% self storage rent drop year-over-year. The city already has a healthy inventory of 11.3 square feet of self storage per capita, well above the national benchmark of 7 square feet per person, indicating a market that’s well supplied. A Fayetteville storage unit averages $115/month, based on March 2024 quotes. A square foot of storage goes for $0.9 in the North Carolina city.

Out in Arizona, more than one city in the Phoenix area has been subject to price drops on the self storage front. Chandler has experienced the largest price drop — at 10.6% annually, followed by Scottsdale (−8.6%) and Tempe (−7.9%). Of the three cities, Scottsdale fares best in terms of supply relative to population, with about 8 square feet of self storage per capita, partially underscoring the current price drop. Moreover, Scottsdale is the sole city of the three to expect new construction in 2024, with about 79K square feet of self storage slated for delivery by the end of the year. Renting a Chandler unit costs about $117/month, while Scottsdale storage goes for about $185/month. Moreover, a Tempe storage unit rents for $117/month, based on March 2024 quotes.

PA’s Pittsburgh also records a self storage rent drop to the tune of 9% y-o-y. The city saw construction activity in 2023, when about 59K square feet of self storage space were built, and it is slated to add over 118K square feet of storage in 2024. As such, construction activity, coupled with a more challenging housing market, has helped to put the brakes on self storage rent growth. A storage unit in Pittsburgh comes down to $122/month, whereas a square foot of storage rents for $1.1 in the Steel City.

A popular state for relocation, Florida has seen its fair share of newcomers fueling the local real estate market, including self storage. Consequently, the sector has been busy responding to the existing demand for storage, which, in turn, is putting downward pressure on several cities in the Sunshine State. Orlando and St. Petersburg are seeing street rates plunge by over 8% annually, whereas in Tallahassee and Hialeah rent plunged to the tune of 7% y-o-y. Except for Hialeah, all three cities saw substantial self storage deliveries in 2023, surpassing 300K square feet of self storage in Orlando and Tallahassee. As for 2024, these two cities are the only ones estimated to add new construction in 2024, signaling the industry’s positive outlook as demand for the service is expected to remain steady. On the rent side, Orlando storage now stands at $127/month, whereas a St. Petersburg unit costs $148/month. In Tallahassee, a storage unit goes for $109/month, and in Hialeah storage calls for $168/month.

Still in the South, Mobile, AL, is a new entry in the top 10 cities for street rate plunges, witnessing an annual street rate drop of 8%. This brings the cost of a Mobile storage unit to $94, while a square foot of storage rents for $0.7/month. The city has seen its population dwindle by 3% in the past five years, one of the underlying causes for a slowdown in demand, which can bring prices down. Moreover, not only does Mobile boast a healthy inventory of over 10 square feet of self storage per capita, but it has registered consistent deliveries in the past few years. About 124K square feet of self storage were added in 2022, and about 258K square feet of storage came online in 2023. Additionally, 2024 continues on a similar construction streak, as close to 100K square feet of self storage are estimated to be added to the local pipeline.

Self storage rents climb in select cities despite nationwide slowdown: Rochester, NY, Brownsville, TX, and Lincoln, NE, lead with rising rates amid low inventory and population growth

Self storage rents went up at a slower pace in only 8 out of the 150 largest cities. Most of these places have low inventories related to population and have experienced population growth at varying rates. Taken together, these factors spur demand for self storage, which nudges prices on an ascending trajectory.

Rochester, NY, posted the most significant street rate hike, at 2.7% y-o-y — bringing a Rochester storage unit to $140/month. The city is undersupplied by industry standards, with a meager 3.3 square feet of self storage space per capita, much below the national standard of 7 square feet of storage per person. This creates the proper context for rates to surge with demand surpassing existing supply. On the construction front, no new deliveries are projected for 2024, after the city saw the addition of 30K square feet of self storage space in 2023.

Brownsville, TX, comes in second for street rate surges to the tune of 1.5% y-o-y. A Brownsville storage unit rents for $115/month, and a square foot of storage costs $0.9/month to rent here. In the last five years, Brownsville’s population went up by 2.7%, creating a surge in demand for self storage. Moreover, the city has only 5.1 square feet of self storage per capita, another contributing factor to the current increase in storage rates. To respond to existing demand, the city is projected to add close 84K square feet of self storage space to the local pipeline in 2024.

In Lincoln, NE, street rates went up by 1.5% y-o-y. The city registers a low supply of self storage, with 6.4 square feet of self storage per capita. Moreover, Lincoln saw its population increase by 4.8% in the past five years, which also contributed to the demand for self storage. As a result, rents surged, with a Lincoln unit averaging $108/month in March 2024. A square foot of self storage rented for $0.8 per month for the same period. As for 2024, Lincoln is estimated to see the delivery of 24K square feet of self storage in 2024 as a nod to the existing demand for the service.

Texas cities join Philly for highest volumes of expected self storage construction in 2024

Texas cities have been powerhouses for real estate construction in the past few years, self storage included. While many of them still maintain high levels of self storage development, PA’s Philly might be overtaking them all, with about 721K square feet of self storage space estimated to be added to the local inventory in 2024. The City of Brotherly Love sports a humble 3.2 square feet of self storage per resident, rendering it undersupplied by industry standards. This explains the continuous construction registered in previous years. About 137K square feet of self storage were delivered in 2022, and close to 461K square feet of storage came online in 2023.

Top Cities for 2024 Expected Construction

Over in Texas, four cities came to forefront for their estimated construction in 2024, with Fort Worth registering 623K square feet of storage, the highest estimated deliveries in the state. Similarly, Houston is bound to see the addition of 598K square feet of self storage for 2024. Both cities have similar inventories relative to population, with Houston faring slightly better (6.8 sq. ft./capita). Alternatively, San Antonio is expected to build 456K square feet of self storage, and another 359K square feet of self storage space are predicted to be delivered in McKinney. In both of these cities, supply is relatively healthy, standing above 8 square feet of self storage per resident, but ongoing demand keeps the industry going. In the case of McKinney, in particular, a whopping 19% increase in population in the last five years is keeping the wheels of construction in motion, as demand shoots up when the number of residents surges.

On the West Coast, California’s Los Angeles and San Diego are also projected to see high levels of construction in 2024. LA is estimated to add over 492K square feet of self storage, and about 289K square feet of storage space are scheduled to come online in San Diego by the end of 2024. Both cities are undersupplied, but LA’s inventory relative to population is quite low, at 1.8 square feet per capita. On the other hand, San Diego’s supply stands at 4.1 square feet per resident. Naturally, in both cases, new construction is meant to address this gap in supply to help address demand on the local market.

Methodology

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

This report considers self storage rents and construction estimates for 2024 based on March 2024 data. 

The report includes the largest 150 cities by population with an active self storage inventory of at least ten facilities. The analysis only encompasses same-store properties that have had a market presence for the previous 12 months.

The self storage street rate is calculated as the weighted averages of the street rates for all storage unit sizes, non-climate-controlled and climate-controlled units included.

For population changes, we've turned to U.S. Census data (2017-2022 dataset).

Data on self storage street rates, deliveries, and 2024 forecasted construction activity 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.

Fair use and redistribution

We encourage you and freely grant you permission to reuse, host or repost the research, graphics and images presented in this article. When doing so, we ask that you credit our research by linking to RentCafe Self Storage or to this page.