Suburbs Lead Self-Storage Construction, but Urban Markets Gain Ground

Self-storage remains largely a suburban business, but a growing share of new development is moving into city cores as smaller apartments, renter growth and downtown residential revivals reshape demand, according to a new StorageCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data.

Across the 100 most populous U.S. metros, 59% of self-storage built from 2016 to 2025 went up in the suburbs, roughly matching the split of existing inventory. Still, 41 of those metros delivered most of their new supply in urban areas.

New York, Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth are the largest suburban markets by volume, each adding more than 14 million square feet outside their city cores. New York delivered 25 million square feet overall, the most of any metro, with 69% in the suburbs, a pattern shaped partly by city limits on storage in industrial zones since 2017. Chicago’s 2025 ban on storage in most commercial and downtown districts is likely to widen its suburban tilt.

Land-constrained Boston built 99% of its new supply in the suburbs, while Detroit built 95% outside the city.

Mid-size metros lead the urban shift. Las Vegas delivered 96% of its new supply in urban areas, followed by Colorado Springs, Colorado, at 89% and Wichita, Kansas, at 86%. Developers there are using infill parcels and converting vacant offices, warehouses and stores.

In the Northeast, downtown revivals have driven rapid urban inventory growth. About 66% of Providence, Rhode Island’s urban storage and 63% of Worcester, Massachusetts’ was built in the past decade.