Alternative and real estate investments should be a part of every investment portfolio, with some experts recommending an allocation of over 30%.  With stock and bond market volatility that can take drastic swings based on the day’s headlines, investors can take comfort in the security and stability that investing in a hard real estate asset such as self-storage can provide.

U.S. self-storage industry statistics:  Updated 12/19/2018 Source: The SpareFoot Storage Beat. 

U.S. self-storage sector snapshot Data
Annual industry revenue $38 billion
Number of storage facilities (range) 44,000-52,000
Total rentable self-storage space 2.3 billion square feet
Self-storage space per person 7.06 square feet
Percentage of households that rent a self-storage unit 9.4 percent
Average monthly cost for a self-storage unit $91.14

 

Average monthly construction spending on self-storage facilities

The chart below shows construction spending by month, according to the U.S. Census bureau. 2018 spending shown year-to-date through October 2018. Figures are not adjusted for inflation.

 

Largest self-storage operators (publicly traded) in the U.S. (by annual revenue)

  1. Public Storage: $2.51 billion (2017)
  2. Extra Space Storage: $1.1 billion (2017)
  3. CubeSmart: $558.94 million (2017)
  4. Life Storage: $529.75 million (2017)
  5. U-Haul: $286.89 million (fiscal 2017 – self-storage revenue only)
  6. National Storage Affiliates Trust: $268.13 million (2017)

Data from most recently reviewed company earnings reports.

 

Largest self-storage operators in the U.S. (by number of facilities, owned or managed)

  1. Public Storage: 2,386
  2. Extra Space Storage: 1,483
  3. U-Haul: 1,482
  4. CubeSmart: 936
  5. Life Storage: 675
  6. National Storage Affiliates Trust: 533

Data from most recently reviewed company earnings reports. U-Haul number reported by MiniCo Storage Almanac 2018.