August 2025 Self Storage Report: Self Storage Records Second Month Of Rent Stabilization, as 63% of Major Cities Post Street Rate Growth

The U.S. self storage market entered its second month of positive rent growth in August 2025, continuing a recovery trend that began earlier this year. After two challenging years marked by weaker demand, an influx of new facilities, and steep discounts, the industry is finding its footing again. National street rates averaged $135 in August, up 1.5% from a year earlier. This marked the second consecutive month of annual growth, though rates edged down slightly compared to July, as self storage peak season is coming to an end.

Among the 150 largest U.S. cities, 63% recorded rent growth. The strongest increases occurred in markets with significant supply shortages, with Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles following this trend. In contrast, declines were concentrated in Sun Belt cities, where overflowing inventories are exerting downward pressure on rates.

The industry continues to add new construction in 2025, albeit a slower pace. About 57 million square feet of storage space is set to be delivered this year — a 10% decline from 2024’s pace, in response to high inventories coupled with the slower housing market and reduced moving activity.

Sun Belt cities see most pronounced rent drops

Most rent drops were recorded across secondary markets in the Sun Belt, where proximity to primary markets is a factor influencing downward pricing regulation. Jersey City and Salt Lake City are notable Sun Belt outliers among cities experiencing significant rent declines.

Spring Valley, NV, near Las Vegas posted the most significant drop, at 6.9% year-over-year. This brought the average monthly rate for a Spring Valley unit to $147/month. A slower housing market likely contributed to the decline, as demand weakened due to reduced move-in activity.

In Southern California’s metro areas, as well as in Elk Grove up north, storage prices posted year-over-year declines ranging from 3% to 6%. Both Oceanside and Oxnard also saw population losses over the past five years — down 1.6% and 0.3%, respectively — further weighing on rental rates. Despite the dip, Oceanside still commands the highest monthly rent among them at $178, followed by Oxnard at $169. By contrast, storage in Ontario averages $140 per month, while Elk Grove comes in lower at $134. Notably, Elk Grove stands out as the only city in this group with new supply on the horizon, with more than 310,000 square feet scheduled for delivery by the end of 2025.

Outside of the Sun Belt, Jersey City, NJ came second nationally for self storage rent drops, posting a 6.2% y-o-y drop. A Jersey City unit rented for $189/month. With a low supply of 1.2 square feet per capita, Jersey City is scheduled to add over 77,800 square feet of self storage space in 2025, making it one of the few cities with both falling rents and new construction activity.

Farther south, in Fayetteville, NC, healthy supply is putting downward pressure on self storage prices. Residents have access to 12.4 square feet of storage each, significantly exceeding the national average of 7 square feet per capita. As a result, monthly rents slid to $109 in July, marking a sharp 7.6% drop from the previous year.

Undersupplied coastal cities post highest rent increases

The steepest rent increases are concentrated along the coasts, in places where storage availability falls well below the national benchmark of 7 square feet per person. These cities typically have tight inventories and strong housing markets, which continue to drive up pricing.

Boston, MA, recorded the sharpest annual jump, with average rates climbing 10.9% to $254 per month. The city has just 0.7 square feet of storage per resident, one of the lowest levels nationwide, which continues to sustain strong pricing despite a slight 0.8% dip from June. Rents in August still rose 1% from the prior month, underscoring the persistent supply crunch.

In Florida, Port St. Lucie and St. Petersburg each posted rent gains of at least 8% year-over-year. Both fall short of national supply norms, with St. Petersburg offering 5.8 square feet per resident and Port St. Lucie slightly higher at 6.4. Port St. Lucie’s explosive population growth — up 33% over the past five years — has further strained demand. To address the imbalance, the city is slated to add nearly 205,000 square feet of new space in 2025, in contrast to St. Petersburg, which has little construction underway.

Yonkers, NY, logged its second straight month of increases, with rents up 8.4% year-over-year to $199. Even with more than 150,000 square feet of new space scheduled this year, availability remains scarce at just 2 square feet per resident. Strong demand paired with dense urban living continues to support upward pricing pressure.

On the West Coast, California cities with limited inventory are also seeing rapid rent hikes. Glendale, with only 1.9 square feet of space per person, posted an 8.9% annual increase, pushing average rates to $313 per month. Los Angeles faces a similar shortage at 2.1 square feet per capita and saw rents climb 6.5% to $267 per month. The city is slated to add roughly 758,000 square feet of new storage in 2025, though demand still far outpaces supply. Modesto, where space availability is slightly better at 6.3 square feet per person, still logged a 7% annual rent increase.

Beyond the coasts, Chicago, IL, and Aurora, IL, also saw solid gains of around 6.5% year-over-year. Both cities have fewer than 4 square feet of storage per capita, driving rates upward. Average monthly rents reached $144 in Chicago and $115 in Aurora. Chicago is set to expand its supply by about 45,000 square feet in 2025, while Aurora has no new projects in the pipeline. –

The Sun Belt dominates in 2025 self storage expected construction

Self storage construction activity is still concentrated around the Sun Belt, where several cities are set to see significant new supply. Las Vegas, NV, tops the list with nearly 831,000 square feet of storage scheduled for completion by the end of this year. Not far behind, Los Angeles, CA, is on track to add 757,000 square feet — almost triple the amount completed in 2024 — as the city grapples with meeting their low supply relative to population.

Top Cities for 2025 Construction

San Antonio, TX, takes third place with 730,000 square feet expected in 2025, a 25% increase from 2024. San Antonio already sit slightly above the national average for storage space per person, but continuous demand fosters further robust development.

Other cities seeing sizable projects include Houston, TX, with 627,000 square feet, Jacksonville, FL, with 479,000 square feet, and Bakersfield, CA, which is set to deliver another 344,000 square feet.

Outside of the Sun Belt, New York City is also seeing projected construction amounting to roughly 728,000 square feet of self storage space. The high construction volumes comes on the heels of meager supply of only 2.4 square feet of self storage space per capita.

Looking ahead, the rest of 2025 will hinge on how quickly Sun Belt markets can absorb their new projects and whether coastal cities with tighter supply can keep their momentum. For operators and investors, August’s performance suggests cautious but rising optimism that the self storage industry is edging back toward balance.

Methodology

This analysis was conducted by RentCafe Self Storage, an online platform offering nationwide listings for apartments and storage units.

This report considers self storage rents and forecasted construction for 2025 based on August 2025 data.

The report features the 150 most populous cities that have a self storage inventory of at least 10 units. The self storage street rate is calculated as the weighted averages of the street rates for all storage unit sizes, including both non-climate-controlled and climate-controlled units included.

For data on population changes, we turned to the U.S. Census (2018–2023 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 distribution

This study is intended as a resource for the general public on topics of common interest and should not be considered investment advice. The data presented is accurate to the best of our knowledge, based on thorough and good-faith research, but may change due to external factors.

We permit the distribution of this content, provided that proper attribution is given to “RentCafe Self Storage” with a link back to the research study.

Want to explore how this trend has developed over time? Check out our previous reports for historical data and insights on the topic:

July 2025 Self Storage Report: National Rates Flat, Sun Belt Prices Still Sliding Amid Supply Surge
May 2025 Marks Turning Point for Self Storage Rates After Years of Corrections
Self Storage Rates Stabilize, Registering Only a Mild 0.7% Decrease in April
Self Storage Rates Begin to Level Off in March After Steep February Drop
Self Storage Rates Continue to Dip Year-Over-Year This February