Southern Cities Continue to Dominate Self Storage Price Drops    

• As of September 2024, self storage rental rates have fallen by 2.9% year-over-year, bringing the average unit rent to $134.
• The South claims the top three spots for self storage price drops in September 2024, with Port St. Lucie, Florida, coming in first.
• Sunbelt cities like Tampa, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia, are also seeing significant rent decreases.
• In the mid-Atlantic, Jersey City, New Jersey, has surged to the forefront, eclipsing the Midwest with the most remarkable year-over-year growth in storage costs.
• Self storage construction is expected to carry on in over half of the 150 largest cities, with Texas cities stealing the spotlight for forecasted construction.

The self storage market’s downward price trend persists, with national rental rates plummeting 2.9% year-over-year and 4.3% per square foot as of September 2024. The average monthly unit price now stands at $134. This slide continues month-over-month, with rates dropping another 0.7%.

As autumn arrived, the housing market was navigating a delicate balance between consumer demand and rising costs. As a result, the trend of decreasing affordability is prompting a shift toward providing more space options as living areas become pricier.

More than half of the 150 largest U.S. cities are poised to increase their self storage inventory, adding approximately 12 million square feet of storage space, down 17% year-over-year.

Southern cities lead in self storage rate drops

Port St. Lucie, FL, continues to experience the steepest rent drops in the U.S. Year-over-year, rents have maintained a double-digit downward trend, falling 17% compared to the previous year. However, the pace of decline has slowed, with per-square-foot rates dropping 2.8% over the past month to settle at $123. Despite robust population growth — up 17% over the past five years — the elevated housing inventory growth in Port St. Lucie helps alleviate some of the market pressure, often leading to lower demand for self storage. Port St. Lucie saw its housing stock increase by 78% from 2005 to 2023, the seventh-fastest growth rate in the country.

The second spot stays in the South. Storage units in Fayetteville, NC, now go for $113 per month on average, down 9.9% year-over-year, with a month-over-month drop of 3.4%. The local market is characterized by an abundant supply, with a storage capacity of 12.1 square feet per capita — nearly double the national average. This oversupply has contributed to declining rent prices, as the market remains well-stocked and new construction continues. In fact, the city is set to expand its storage inventory by an additional 244,000 square feet in 2024.

Chattanooga, Tennessee, completes the southern trifecta with a decline in storage rental rates. In September 2024, the city witnessed an 8.7% drop, bringing monthly rates down to $97— an 8.7% decrease from the previous year. With rents at $0.80 per square foot, Chattanooga’s well-stocked market boasts 8.1 square feet per capita. Consequently, the city planned to add a modest 39K square feet of new storage space in 2024.

Meanwhile, in the Sunbelt region, Tampa, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia, are charting similar courses, albeit with distinct differences. Both cities have seen rental rates decrease, with Tampa experiencing a 7.6% drop and Atlanta a 7.4% decline.

Tampa’s supply situation is more aligned with national benchmarks, offering 6.9 square feet per capita.

Atlanta lags behind with only 4.5 square feet per capita, creating a pressing need for expansion.

San Antonio, Texas, is also experiencing a decline in rental rates with the city seeing a 6.8% annual drop in rates. Currently, the average monthly rental rate for storage in San Antonio stands at $124, with a cost of $1 per square foot. Despite having a well-supplied market with nine square feet per capita, San Antonio is continuing to expand its storage capacity. The city plans to add a substantial 828K square feet of new inventory in the upcoming year.

Self storage price increases: A tale of two coasts

In the mid-Atlantic, Jersey City, New Jersey, has surged to the forefront of price increases, eclipsing the Midwest with the most remarkable year-over-year growth in storage costs. The city’s acute shortage of storage space of just 1.3 square feet per capita has driven prices upward, as demand far outstrips supply. As a result, rental rates have climbed to an average of $199 per month, marking a 6.6% increase from the previous year. No new deliveries were scheduled for 2024.

Arlington, Virginia, has vaulted onto the podium as a top contender in the mid-Atlantic self storage scene, landing in second position. Here, prices are soaring 5.9% over the past year. This leap brings the average monthly cost to $256, a 5% increase from last year. With a meager supply of just 1.2 square feet per capita, prices have risen due to persistent demand.

On the West Coast, California dominates the next three spots, with Oceanside securing third place, followed closely by Huntington Beach and San Francisco. Oceanside’s self storage prices have risen by 5.1%, resulting in a street rate of $181.

Meanwhile, Brownsville, Texas, rounds out the top 10, with storage rents increasing by 2.3% compared to the previous year. This brings the average price for a storage unit in Brownsville to $109.

Texas leads the charge in self storage construction

The South is solidifying its lead in self storage construction, with Texas at the forefront. In 2024, the state was poised for a surge in development. San Antonio took the lead, with plans to add nearly 828K square feet of storage space in 2024. However, the city’s rental rates are trending downward, and the existing inventory surplus may lead to a slowdown in future development.

Top Cities for 2024 Expected Construction

In contrast, Houston and Fort Worth are facing a different set of challenges. Both cities are experiencing population growth, with Fort Worth seeing an impressive 11% increase in residents over the past five years. This demographic shift has created a surge in demand for storage facilities, prompting increased construction activity. Houston is set to receive around 732K square feet of new storage space, while Fort Worth will see about 559K square feet.

Beyond Texas, Orlando, Tucson, and Philadelphia shine as hotspots for self storage growth. Orlando’s population has skyrocketed by 14% in just one year, sparking a surge in demand and prompting the addition of 537K square feet of new storage space. Tucson and Philadelphia are also ramping up, with 431K and 423K square feet planned, respectively.

Discover the changes in self storage rental prices across the 150 largest cities.

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 forecasted construction for 2024 based on September 2024 data.

The report features the 150 most populous cities that have a self storage inventory of a minimum of 10 facilities. The self storage street rates are calculated as the weighted averages of the street rates for all storage unit sizes, non-climate-controlled and climate-controlled units included.

For data on population changes, we turned to the U.S. Census (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.