America’s shrinking apartments are fueling a self-storage surge. As multifamily construction booms, renters squeezed into smaller units are driving record demand for off-site storage, according to new research from StorageCafe.
Over the past decade, more than 4.1 million apartments were built nationwide — over half of them studios or one-bedrooms. During the same period, more than 500 million sq. ft. of self-storage came online, pushing total inventory past 2 billion sq. ft. and highlighting how the two sectors rise in tandem.
Here’s how the trend looks on a regional level:
- Texas major metros: Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio lead the nation in both apartment and self-storage construction. Each has added more than half its apartment inventory and roughly three-quarters of its storage since 1985. Fueled by rapid in-migration and double-digit population growth, these cities showcase how housing demand and storage needs rise together.
- Urban undersupply: Despite massive apartment growth, some coastal cities are short on storage. Manhattan offers just 1.2 sq. ft. per capita (vs. 7 nationally), driving rents to $250/month. In Los Angeles, storage supply slipped 5% even as apartments doubled — leaving just 2 sq. ft. per capita and pushing rents near $300/month.
- Southern Belt surge: Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, and Tampa all rank in the top 20 for apartment growth since the mid-1980s. Each shows corresponding spikes in storage, but some remain underserved — Atlanta, for instance, added 155,000 apartments and nearly 5M sq. ft. of storage, yet still falls below the national per-capita benchmark.
“As America builds smaller, denser apartments, self-storage has shifted from convenience to necessity,” said Victor Maghear, real estate trends analyst at StorageCafe. “The housing crunch, population growth, and lifestyle changes — from remote work to decluttering — are reshaping how people use space. We see this most clearly among millennial and Gen Z renters, small business owners, and remote workers, who value proximity, convenience, and security when choosing a storage solution. Storage is no longer just ‘extra,’ but a structural part of modern urban life.”
You can explore the full study with detailed national and city-level data here: https://www.storagecafe.com/blog/americas-apartment-boom-fueling-self-storage-surge/
Feature Image Courtesy of: StorageCafe
