Self storage industry statistics, explained
Industry numbers get repeated without sources or dates. Every figure on this page links to a primary document and states the year it describes. Where no primary source exists, we say so rather than repeat a guess. Each section ends with what the number means for a one-to-ten-location operator.
How to read this page
We use three kinds of source. The Self Storage Association (SSA) publishes industry-wide counts. Public REITs file audited annual reports (Form 10-K) with the SEC. Federal agencies such as the Census Bureau classify the industry.
REIT figures describe that company's own portfolio, not the whole market. They are still useful, because they are audited and dated. Treat them as a benchmark from large, professionally run facilities.
If a number has no year, treat it with caution. Supply, rates and occupancy all move year to year.
Size of the industry
The SSA states the U.S. industry has more than 65,000 self storage facilities. Its fact sheet does not give the year that count describes, so check it before you quote it.
The SSA also reports about 20,000 facilities through its nine international affiliates, again without a stated year.
For context, Public Storage, the largest owner, reported 3,073 consolidated facilities with 221 million net rentable square feet as of December 31, 2024.
Industry revenue, total rentable square feet and supply per person: [SOURCE NEEDED]. We could not find these on a primary source page that loads and states a year. Census Bureau data for NAICS 531130 (lessors of miniwarehouses and self-storage units) is the best federal place to look.
What it means for you: the industry is large, but your market is a three-to-five-mile radius. National counts matter less than the facilities your renters can drive to. A self storage feasibility study measures that local supply.
Who owns the facilities
Public Storage's 2024 10-K calls ownership "highly fragmented". It estimates it owns about 9% of U.S. self-storage square footage (2024).
The same filing estimates the four largest owners hold about 20%, and regional and local operators the remaining 80% (2024). These are the company's estimates, not a census.
What it means for you: most of the market is still run by operators like you. But the large owners set the pricing playbook your renters see online. Expect them as competitors in most metro markets.
Occupancy at large operators
Public Storage reported same-store weighted average square foot occupancy of 92.4% in 2024, down from 93.0% in 2023. Same store means 2,507 facilities, about 170.0 million net rentable square feet, owned and stabilized since January 1, 2022. The same table shows 94.6% for 2022.
| Year | Weighted avg. sq ft occupancy |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 94.6% |
| 2023 | 93.0% |
| 2024 | 92.4% |
Year-end occupancy was lower than the annual average: 90.5% at December 31, 2024, versus 91.3% a year earlier. Storage demand is seasonal, so a December reading runs below the year's average.
How to use it: compare your annual weighted average, by square foot, to the 92.4% figure. Do not compare a single summer month. If you are a stabilized facility well below it, look first at pricing and visibility, not at the market.
This is physical occupancy by square foot, for stabilized facilities. A new facility in lease-up will run far lower. Read physical vs economic occupancy before comparing your number to this one.
Industry-wide average occupancy: [SOURCE NEEDED].
Rents and the street-rate gap
Public Storage's realized annual rent per occupied square foot was $22.61 in 2024 and $22.64 in 2023. Per available square foot it was $20.89 (2024) and $21.05 (2023).
The bigger story is the gap between new and departing tenants. Average annual contract rent per square foot for move-ins fell from $18.08 (2022) to $15.57 (2023) to $13.76 (2024). Move-outs were paying $20.53, $21.20 and $20.70 in those years.
| Year | Move-ins | Move-outs | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $18.08 | $20.53 | $2.45 |
| 2023 | $15.57 | $21.20 | $5.63 |
| 2024 | $13.76 | $20.70 | $6.94 |
The gap column is our subtraction of the two reported figures. The filing says these figures include promotional discounts.
How to use it: compare your own move-in rents to your in-place rents each year. A widening gap is normal while you chase occupancy. It only works if you have a plan to raise existing tenants toward market over time.
What it means for you: large operators win tenants with low move-in rates. They recover revenue through later rate increases on existing tenants. If you match their street rate without a rate-increase program, you only get the low half of that model. See setting rental rates for a new facility.
Tenant turnover
Across its same-store facilities, Public Storage reported move-ins of 120.2 million square feet and move-outs of 121.4 million in 2024. In 2023 the figures were 121.4 million and 122.5 million. Source: 2024 Form 10-K.
Against about 170.0 million same-store rentable square feet, 2024 move-ins equal roughly 71%. That is our division of the two reported numbers. It shows how much leasing work goes into holding occupancy flat.
The same filing says more than half of its tenants had rented for longer than six months at December 31, 2024. So turnover is concentrated: a short-stay group churns, while a long-stay group pays rising rents.
Industry-wide average length of stay: [SOURCE NEEDED].
What it means for you: budget staff time and marketing for constant re-leasing, even at high occupancy.
Operating costs and fee income
The same-store table in the 10-K breaks out direct operating costs. For 2024, property taxes were $347.5 million and on-site manager payroll $132.5 million.
Marketing was $84.9 million in 2024, up 13.1%% from 2023. Over 2022 to 2023 it rose 42.9%%, from $52.5 million to $75.1 million. The filing ties this to softer demand and efforts to drive move-ins.
Late charges and administrative fees were $126.5 million in 2024, against rental income of $3.55 billion. By our division, that is about 3.6%% of rental income.
Direct net operating income was $2.89 billion on total revenues of $3.68 billion. By our division, that is a direct margin of about 78.5%% (2024). The filing says direct NOI excludes supervisory payroll, centralized management costs and share-based compensation.
| Line | 2024 ($ thousands) | Share of total revenues |
|---|---|---|
| Total revenues | 3,676,632 | 100% |
| Property taxes | 347,511 | 9.5% |
| On-site manager payroll | 132,493 | 3.6% |
| Marketing | 84,936 | 2.3% |
| Direct NOI | 2,887,591 | 78.5% |
How to use it: divide your own cost lines by your total revenue the same way. A small operator will usually run a higher payroll share, because staff cost does not shrink with facility size. Property tax share is driven by your county, so compare it to local facilities, not to a REIT.
Who rents storage and why
Share of households that rent a unit, renter demographics and reasons for renting: [SOURCE NEEDED]. The SSA publishes demand studies for members. We will cite one when we can confirm a public, dated page.
What it means for you: your own move-in records are better data than any national survey. Track the reason for renting at move-in for six months.
What REIT numbers cannot tell you
REIT portfolios lean toward large facilities in metro areas. A 300-unit rural facility faces different demand, rents and costs.
REITs spend heavily on online marketing and centralized pricing. Their move-in discounts are funded by scale that a single site does not have.
Their same-store sets exclude new and recently bought facilities. That makes the numbers steadier than the market as a whole.
Use REIT data for direction and definitions, not as a target. If their move-in rents fell, ask whether yours did too, and why.
Compare like with like. Match your square foot occupancy to their square foot occupancy, and your realized rent to their realized rent.
Keep your own records with the same care. Three years of clean monthly data on your facility beats any national figure.
Checking a statistic before you use it
- Find the original document, not an article quoting it.
- Note the year the number describes, not the year it was published.
- Check what was measured: facilities, square feet, units or dollars.
- Check whose data it is: one company, a sample or the whole industry.
- Check the definition: physical or economic occupancy, street or in-place rent.
- Write the source and date next to the number in your own notes.
For more data guides, see the industry data pillar.
Frequently asked questions
How many self storage facilities are in the U.S.?
The SSA says more than 65,000. Its fact sheet does not state the year of that count.
What is a normal occupancy rate?
Public Storage's stabilized same-store occupancy was 92.4% in 2024 per its 10-K. That is one large owner, not an industry average.
Why do REIT move-in rates look so low?
They discount move-ins and raise rents on existing tenants later. In 2024 Public Storage's move-in rent averaged $13.76 per square foot versus $20.70 for move-outs.
How long do tenants stay?
Public Storage says more than half of its tenants had rented longer than six months at year-end 2024. We have not found a primary industry-wide figure.
What margin should a facility run?
Public Storage's same-store direct NOI was about 78.5% of revenue in 2024, before supervisory payroll and centralized management costs. Smaller facilities typically run lower; build your own from your actual costs.
Are large companies taking over the industry?
Public Storage estimates the four largest owners held about 20% of U.S. square footage in 2024. Regional and local operators held about 80%.