Since 1973, we’ve been in the business of providing self storage insurance and speciality publications to the industry, so of course we keep on top of trends in self-storage!  As it turns out, this is a great time to be in the self-storage business, as the most recent numbers from the Self Storage Association demonstrate.

So, with the year wrapping up, let’s take a quick look at some of the highlights of 2013 for the self-storage industry!

Ten Important Facts About Self-Storage In 2013 From The SSA

1. For the last 38 years, the self-storage industry has constantly been one of the fastest-growing sectors of American business, leading the industry to be dubbed “recession-resistant” by Federal economists.
2. More than 50,000 self-storage facilities are in the US today.
3. Self-storage rental is growing globally as well, with around 10,000 additional facilities globally.
4. There is now so much storage space – 2.3 billion square feet – that every American citizen could stand at once within nothing but storage units.
5. Well, except that with 87% occupancy rates, there’s just not room with all the other stuff already being stored, making for plenty of self storage insurance customers.
6. Self-storage generated more than $3.25 billion dollars in property taxes for local governments in 2013 alone.
7. Just under 9% of Americans rent self-storage space, up from 6% in 1995.
8. More than 1.5 million units are rented to members of the American military services alone.  In fact, storage companies often offer incentives and discounts to members of the military.
9. The average non-climate controlled 10’x10′ unit rents for $115 per month.  If it’s climate-controlled, that’s $146 per month.
10. The top five companies  in the industry control about 12% of the overall market, so there’s still plenty of room for independents.

Right now is a great time to be involved in the self-storage industry, and there are ever-more people out there with collections and property needing to be insured off-site.  To everyone in the business, we wish you the best of luck in 2014 and hope next year is as good as this one!