AUSTIN, TX—Self storage has become a widespread choice for keeping homes and lives organized, whether during a move, downsizing, owning too much stuff or adjusting to changing household sizes. And in an effort to respond to the increasing need for extra space, more than 1.4 billion square feet of storage inventory had been built as of year-end 2019.

But who is driving this recent expansion of the self-storage sector? For clarity, the nationwide self-storage search platform StorageCafé conducted a survey of 1,700 US residents. The survey found Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are not only the biggest spenders but also represent 77% of the self-storage renter pool.

StorageCafé findings:

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Lisa Brown

Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.