Approximately 77 percent of America’s 150 largest cities saw a decrease in average monthly storage unit rent this year compared to last year.
In RentCafe’s 2023 study, a standard 10’x10’ storage unit rented for an average of $127 per month nationwide in April 2023, the same average recorded for March 2023. But, compared to 2022, the rate is a decrease of 3.05 percent.
Across the United States, 53.8 million square feet of rentable storage space is scheduled to be added in 2023. The most is planned in Texas cities, while the Las Vegas Valley area will also increase its inventory. In response to demand, many smaller cities also plan to increase storage space.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, cities are seeing double digit increases in monthly storage rent from last year. Arlington, Virginia and Newark, N.J. increased monthly rent by $25 in April 2023 compared to April 2022. Their low supply of self-storage per capita keeps cities like Arlington and Newark increasing rates with demand. Buffalo, N.Y. and Tacoma, Wash., added only $5 to the average monthly rent for storage space in the last year.
Since 2022, New Orleans has seen the most reduced storage rates with a drop of 18.5 percent.
The largest amount of planned storage space for 2023 is in Houston and San Antonio: 743,000 and 707,000 square feet, respectively.
The largest city increasing its storage inventory the most is Philadelphia, as well as Elk Grove, Calif. and Aurora, Ill.
Of the 150 cities surveyed, 98 have active self-storage pipelines, with approximately 53.8 million square-feet of additional space scheduled for this year.