Post-pandemic momentum has continued in the self-storage market, driven by rising housing costs and shifting consumer lifestyles. Self-storage usage surged during the pandemic as Americans relocated or stored items to free up space for home offices or do-it-yourself projects, and it has continued as high prices and interest rates have slowed space-adding renovations and large home purchases, according to a Placer.ai analysis.
Leading self-storage chains all posted year-over-year foot traffic growth during the first quarter, following a trend that started in 2019, according to Placer.ai data. Particularly, Extra Space Storage visits were up 7%, Public Storage visits were up 2.1% and CubeSmart visits increased 3.4% for the quarter. Compared with 2019, visits to Extra Space Storage are up 98.3% following a substantial expansion after it acquired Life Storage, and visits to Public Storage and CubeSmart surged by 24.7% and 30.7% from 2019 averages.
Placer.ai highlighted distinct seasonal patterns in self-storage usage. Visits peak in the second and third quarters, aligning with spring cleaning, moving season and home improvements. Traffic typically drops during the first quarter as people remain indoors during the winter and make fewer trips to access stored recreational gear and vehicles.
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All three chains draw comparable demographic profiles, primarily middle-income consumers from urban areas with higher-than-average shares of rental and multiunit housing. Median household income of self-storage visitors was near the nationwide baseline of $79,600 for all three chains during the first quarter.
The industry has also recently made inroads among wealthy and upper-middle-class suburban families, with all three major chains drawing from this segment at or above nationwide average levels. Between Q1 2019 and Q1 2025, Extra Space Storage’s share of wealthy suburban families rose from 9.1% to 10.1%, slightly above the nationwide baseline of 9.6%. Meanwhile, Public Storage’s share of this segment increased from 8.8% to 9.8%, and CubeSmart’s share remained steady at 10.1%. A similar pattern emerged for upper suburban diverse families, with all three chains at or above the nationwide segment baseline of 9% by Q1 2025, said Placer.ai.
“This small but perceptible shift may reflect rising demand from households where adult children are increasingly staying at home or returning after college, prompting a need for additional storage,” said the report. “Spare rooms once used for storage may also be increasingly repurposed into home offices, studios, or workout spaces in the wake of hybrid work trends.”
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
