Self storage has become a measurable part of household behavior and commercial real estate. The available data below spans U.S. household participation from 2005 to 2024, paid-employee establishments in 2023, and company-reported operating and portfolio results through December 31, 2024.
Key Self Storage Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- 16,681,383 U.S. households rented self storage in 2024, representing 12.6% penetration in the Self Storage Association series.
- 132,391,926 total U.S. households were counted in 2024 in the Self Storage Association historical comparison series.
- 18,564 U.S. NAICS 531130 establishments operated in 2023, according to County Business Patterns.
- $1,961,900 thousand was the 2023 annual payroll reported for U.S. NAICS 531130 paid-employee establishments.
- 3,073 self-storage facilities were owned by Public Storage across 40 U.S. states at December 31, 2024.
- Public Storage’s owned portfolio contained approximately 221.3 million net rentable square feet at December 31, 2024.
- Public Storage’s same-store square-foot occupancy averaged 92.4% in 2024.
- Public Storage same-store realized annual rental income was $22.61 per occupied square foot in 2024.
- Public Storage same-store total revenues were $3,676.632 million in 2024.
- Public Storage reported $3,259.273 million in total self-storage net operating income in 2024, using its non-GAAP definition.
- Public Storage had 26 facilities in development at December 31, 2024, with 2.5 million net rentable square feet planned.
- Public Storage acquired 260 facilities from the beginning of 2022 through December 31, 2024, adding 18.5 million net rentable square feet.
- Global Self Storage reported 13 facilities and 7,049 units at December 31, 2024.
- Global Self Storage same-store occupancy was 92.9% at December 31, 2024, compared with 89.3% a year earlier.
- SmartStop reported $219.0 million in total self-storage-related revenue for 2024 across its U.S. and Canadian portfolio.
- SmartStop same-store average physical occupancy was 92.2% for 2024.
Contents
- U.S. self storage participation and household scale
- Self storage establishments, employment, and payroll
- Portfolio footprint and geographic reach
- Occupancy, rents, and operating outcomes
- Development, acquisitions, and supply pipeline
- Facility mix, revenue trends, and customer-facing scale
U.S. Self Storage Participation and Household Scale
The Self Storage Association’s 2025 Demand Study reports a long historical comparison series for U.S. households and self-storage renter households. Penetration is the share of total households represented by renter households, and the SSA reports a margin of ±1 percentage point at 95% confidence for its penetration estimates.
| Year | Total U.S. households | Self-storage renter households | Penetration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 112,116,531 | 10,032,740 | 9.0% |
| 2007 | 113,277,870 | 10,766,470 | 9.5% |
| 2013 | 121,165,766 | 10,855,031 | 9.0% |
| 2017 | 126,067,560 | 11,806,381 | 9.4% |
| 2020 | 127,679,093 | 13,495,671 | 10.6% |
| 2022 | 130,023,135 | 14,465,772 | 11.1% |
| 2024 | 132,391,926 | 16,681,383 | 12.6% |
Source: Self Storage Association 2025 Demand Study. The series is a historical comparison; renter-household figures are survey measures and the total-household figures are estimates.
The 2024 observation therefore combines an estimated U.S. household base with a surveyed renter-household count. The figures describe household participation, not the number of storage units, facilities, or square feet in the market.
Self Storage Establishments, Employment, and Payroll Data
County Business Patterns provides an official establishment-level view of NAICS 531130 in the United States for 2023. Its scope is paid-employee establishments, so it should not be treated as a complete census of every storage operation or ownership structure.
| 2023 U.S. NAICS 531130 measure | Count or amount |
|---|---|
| Establishments | 18,564 |
| Annual payroll | $1,961,900 thousand |
| Establishments with fewer than 5 employees | 16,965 |
| Establishments with 5–9 employees | 1,226 |
| Establishments with 10–19 employees | 276 |
Source: CB2300CBP: All Sectors: County Business Patterns, 2023. Payroll is reported in $1,000, and the employment-size rows are establishment counts.
The employment-size distribution shows how heavily the observed establishment universe is weighted toward small operations. The 16,965 establishments with fewer than five employees form the largest reported size class, while 1,226 establishments had 5–9 employees and 276 had 10–19 employees.
These establishment and payroll measures are different from REIT portfolio disclosures. County Business Patterns describes an official industry classification and paid-employee scope, while company filings describe the facilities, space, revenue, and operating outcomes of particular portfolios.
Self Storage Portfolio Footprint and Geographic Reach
Public Storage’s 2024 Form 10-K reports one of the largest disclosed U.S. operator footprints in this dataset. At December 31, 2024, the company owned interests in 3,073 self-storage facilities operating across 40 U.S. states, with approximately 221.3 million net rentable square feet.
The same filing also reports 307 third-party managed facilities representing approximately 23.3 million net rentable square feet. These managed properties are separate from the owned-interest portfolio, so the figures should not be added without accounting for that distinction.
Shurgard’s disclosed footprint provides a separate Western European reference point: 318 self-storage facilities and approximately 17 million net rentable square feet in seven Western European countries at December 31, 2024. The U.S. and European figures cover different geographies and companies.
Source: Public Storage Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Public Storage’s same-store pool contained 2,507 facilities in 2024. “Same-store” means facilities owned and operated at stabilized levels since January 1, 2022 in the company’s definition; same-store definitions may differ across REITs.
Occupancy, Rents, and Self Storage Operating Outcomes
Public Storage’s same-store operating series shows occupancy, realized annual rental income, revenue, and net operating income for 2022–2024. These measures apply to the company’s same-store facilities unless otherwise noted.
| Public Storage same-store measure | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square-foot occupancy | 94.6% | 93.0% | 92.4% |
| Realized annual rental income per occupied square foot | $21.28 | $22.64 | $22.61 |
| Total revenues | $3,533.149 million | $3,703.331 million | $3,676.632 million |
Source: Public Storage Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Public Storage also reported total self-storage net operating income of $2,965.819 million in 2022, $3,197.663 million in 2023, and $3,259.273 million in 2024. The company identifies NOI as a non-GAAP measure, so these figures retain the company’s definition rather than representing a standardized accounting measure across all operators.
The occupancy series is a square-foot measure, while rental income is stated per occupied square foot per year. Those units matter when comparing the measures: occupancy describes utilized available space, whereas realized rental income describes the annual rental amount associated with occupied space.
Self Storage Development, Acquisitions, and Supply Pipeline
Public Storage reported both completed expansion activity and projects in development through December 31, 2024. The completed expansion program built 6.8 million net rentable square feet, demolished 1.1 million net rentable square feet, and incurred $895.7 million in direct cost on a cumulative basis.
At the reporting date, 26 facilities were in development. The company expected those facilities to add 2.5 million net rentable square feet over the next 18–24 months, with approximately $498.9 million of aggregate development cost estimated at that date.
A separate expansion pipeline was expected to provide 1.5 million net rentable square feet from expansions in process and future expansion activity. The associated aggregate direct development cost was $242.7 million at December 31, 2024; both the space and cost figures are reporting-date company expectations or estimates.
Acquisition activity was also material. From the beginning of 2022 through December 31, 2024, Public Storage acquired 260 facilities, adding 18.5 million net rentable square feet at an aggregate cost of $3.7 billion.
Source: Public Storage Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Forecasts and estimates retain their reporting-date labels and are not presented as completed results.
Facility Mix, Revenue Trends, and Customer-Facing Scale
Global Self Storage illustrates how a smaller operator reports facility count, units, leasable area, mix, occupancy, and revenue. At December 31, 2024, it reported 13 facilities, 7,049 units, and 967,187 leasable square feet.
Its 2024 leasable-space mix was 59% traditional indoor storage, 33% climate-controlled storage, and 8% outdoor boat, car, and RV storage. The company notes that its traditional indoor category includes non-storage space in the report’s definition.
| Global Self Storage measure | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual total revenue | $11.9 million | $12.2 million | $12.5 million |
| Same-store occupancy at year-end | — | 89.3% | 92.9% |
| Same-store annualized revenue per leased square foot at year-end | — | — | $16.15 |
Source: Global Self Storage, Inc. 2024 Annual Report. Revenue includes outside parking, retail, office, and commercial space in the company-level portfolio; the unavailable cells are not supplied figures.
SmartStop reported $219.0 million in total self-storage-related revenue for 2024 across its U.S. and Canadian portfolio. Its same-store average physical occupancy was 92.2% for 2024, and same-store annualized rent per occupied square foot was approximately $20.02.
SmartStop also acquired five self-storage properties for approximately $132.2 million during the fourth quarter of 2024. The properties were located in the Boston, Denver, San Jose, Washington DC, and Los Angeles metropolitan statistical areas and comprised approximately 383,000 net rentable square feet and 3,750 storage units.
Source: SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Results.
The operator disclosures show why self storage statistics need clear definitions. Facility counts, units, leasable or net rentable square feet, physical or square-foot occupancy, annualized rent, total revenue, and NOI describe related but different dimensions of the sector.