As metro Charlotte’s apartment market surged in the past decade, the business of storing people’s belongings boomed along with it. So much so, that Charlotte witnessed an expansion of 38% of its 2010 inventory that resulted in the addition of 5M square feet of storage space.
That’s according to the latest RENTCafé self storage report in which they researched both multifamily and self storage development trends in the 100 biggest US metros between 2011 and 2020 to find out which places offer the best self storage options to apartment renters.
Here are other highlights on Charlotte’s self storage and multifamily markets:
- Over 5M square feet were added in the past decade to Charlotte’s self storage inventory, surpassing Orlando, Portland and Raleigh.
- The market has grown by 3% each year since 2010, now encompasses almost 18.6 million square feet, and offering 7 square feet of storage space per capita, in line with the national benchmark.
- The city also expanded its apartment market at a similar rate, by 42%, adding almost 54,000 rental units in the last decade.
- The uptick in both self storage and apartment construction was sustained by the almost 21% growth in population — the seventh-largest share of newcomers compared to 2010 populations among the top 100 metros.
- And how much does it cost to rent a self storage facility in the Charlotte market? This year, a 10×10 storage unit rented for an average of $86 a month. That’s a decline of 11 percent over the past 5 years.
In their report, they ranked Charlotte #16 in the nation for storage and apartment growth.
| Rank | Metro | Self Storage Construction 2011-2020 (sq. ft.) | % of 2010 Self Storage Inventory |
Multifamily Construction 2011-2020 (no. of units) | % of 2010 Multifamily Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas, TX | 16,242,954 | 33% | 173,244 | 28.2% |
| 2 | New York, NY | 15,796,362 | 33.6% | 141,522 | 16.4% |
| 3 | Houston, TX | 14,075,185 | 28% | 125,348 | 23.3% |
| 4 | Chicago, IL | 11,257,475 | 31% | 65,011 | 22.1% |
| 5 | Phoenix, AZ | 8,738,034 | 35.1% | 58,066 | 22.2% |
| 6 | Atlanta, GA | 8,187,200 | 27.8% | 78,958 | 21% |
| 7 | Miami, FL | 8,091,832 | 26.7% | 88,811 | 40.3% |
| 8 | Denver, CO | 6,491,082 | 49.7% | 72,544 | 41.8% |
| 9 | Austin, TX | 6,489,638 | 51.8% | 83,904 | 49.7% |
| 10 | Washington, DC | 6,297,078 | 28.3% | 117,509 | 27.2% |
| 11 | Minneapolis, MN | 5,674,239 | 43.3% | 49,125 | 30.3% |
| 12 | Seattle, WA | 5,441,886 | 27.8% | 93,200 | 43.6% |
| 13 | San Antonio, TX | 5,419,951 | 37.5% | 53,223 | 34.6% |
| 14 | Boston, MA | 5,348,917 | 36.1% | 55,029 | 33.2% |
| 15 | Los Angeles, CA | 5,135,506 | 9.3% | 102,623 | 20% |
| 16 | Charlotte, NC | 5,082,557 | 37.7% | 53,913 | 42.3% |
| 17 | Tampa, FL | 5,037,245 | 29.6% | 40,352 | 24.9% |
| 18 | Orlando, FL | 4,702,095 | 33.4% | 49,716 | 31.8% |
| 19 | Portland, OR | 4,269,047 | 39.7% | 38,626 | 31.3% |
| 20 | Philadelphia, PA | 4,035,878 | 20.5% | 40,796 | 15.6% |
| 21 | Milwaukee, WI | 4,025,721 | 68.8% | 14,731 | 22.8% |
| 22 | Nashville, TN | 3,482,968 | 36.7% | 39,504 | 39.7% |
| 23 | Oklahoma City, OK | 3,449,865 | 30.7% | 14,181 | 18% |
| 24 | Raleigh, NC | 3,358,777 | 46.1% | 32,021 | 41.7% |
| 25 | Baltimore, MD | 3,324,039 | 33.1% | 31,237 | 16.9% |
| 26 | Indianapolis, IN | 3,179,333 | 28.4% | 23,283 | 16.9% |
| 27 | St. Louis, MO | 3,010,429 | 27.6% | 16,237 | 14.7% |
| 28 | Louisville, KY | 2,716,592 | 47.4% | 13,575 | 22% |
| 29 | Pittsburgh, PA | 2,516,662 | 29.7% | 12,813 | 16.2% |
| 30 | Detroit, MI | 2,458,689 | 14.3% | 8,691 | 4.1% |
| 31 | Kansas City, MO | 2,386,355 | 21.2% | 25,309 | 20.2% |
| 32 | Charleston, SC | 2,316,750 | 49.7% | 21,071 | 58.1% |
| 33 | Columbus, OH | 2,310,437 | 25% | 36,335 | 25.5% |
| 34 | Virginia Beach, VA | 2,235,925 | 16.6% | 18,551 | 16.4% |
| 35 | Richmond, VA | 2,228,972 | 32.2% | 14,407 | 17.9% |
| 36 | Jacksonville, FL | 2,217,104 | 21.1% | 18,798 | 21.6% |
| 37 | Omaha, NE | 2,133,194 | 44.4% | 10,243 | 19.4% |
| 38 | Greenville, SC | 2,118,683 | 45.8% | 10,897 | 30.8% |
| 39 | San Diego, CA | 2,101,691 | 13.2% | 31,791 | 19.8% |
| 40 | Boise City, ID | 2,071,527 | 26.7% | 7,708 | 57.4% |
| 41 | Sacramento, CA | 2,050,797 | 13.3% | 10,169 | 8.3% |
| 42 | Cincinnati, OH | 2,016,182 | 23% | 15,413 | 15.6% |
| 43 | Salt Lake City, UT | 2,016,167 | 27.8% | 23,843 | 49.6% |
| 44 | Las Vegas, NV | 1,890,498 | 11.9% | 21,649 | 13.9% |
| 45 | North Port, FL | 1,705,340 | 35.4% | 9,344 | 42.4% |
| 46 | San Jose, CA | 1,703,750 | 21.4% | 29,410 | 29.5% |
| 47 | New Orleans, LA | 1,514,770 | 20.6% | 9,600 | 19.6% |
| 48 | Provo, UT | 1,512,752 | 37.5% | 7,183 | 119.1% |
| 49 | Cleveland, OH | 1,461,660 | 21.2% | 10,490 | 9% |
| 50 | Tulsa, OK | 1,400,848 | 18.3% | 8,319 | 14.8% |
| 51 | Colorado Springs, CO | 1,391,947 | 27.5% | 7,113 | 21% |
| 52 | Columbia, SC | 1,337,607 | 29.8% | 6,820 | 17.5% |
| 53 | Memphis, TN | 1,321,882 | 15.6% | 7,850 | 8.5% |
| 54 | Durham, NC | 1,317,391 | 48.2% | 12,525 | 30.6% |
| 55 | Cape Coral, FL | 1,305,568 | 27.7% | 8,141 | 50.8% |
| 56 | Providence, RI | 1,286,463 | 26.9% | 4,107 | 8.5% |
| 57 | Greensboro, NC | 1,260,676 | 35.7% | 7,491 | 18.3% |
| 58 | Grand Rapids, MI | 1,252,099 | 35.2% | 5,427 | 13.3% |
| 59 | Des Moines, IA | 1,242,541 | 50.9% | 12,694 | 43.8% |
| 60 | San Francisco, CA | 1,221,813 | 5.8% | 45,201 | 25.1% |
| 61 | Knoxville, TN | 1,218,616 | 32.6% | 6,698 | 19.9% |
| 62 | Rochester, NY | 1,183,372 | 46% | 6,028 | 11.2% |
| 63 | Augusta, GA | 1,163,727 | 33.4% | 5,127 | 24.2% |
| 64 | Riverside, CA | 1,139,442 | 3.7% | 17,024 | 12.2% |
| 65 | Dayton, OH | 1,049,261 | 25.2% | 3,568 | 8.5% |
| 66 | El Paso, TX | 1,004,490 | 29.3% | 7,832 | 20.6% |
| 67 | Albany, NY | 980,002 | 30.4% | 10,289 | 26.1% |
| 68 | Madison, WI | 929,674 | 50.3% | 13,672 | 39.9% |
| 69 | Spokane, WA | 913,540 | 23.2% | 5,772 | 25.1% |
| 70 | Worcester, MA | 911,497 | 34.7% | 2,870 | 14% |
| 71 | Chattanooga, TN | 906,047 | 31.5% | 5,957 | 31% |
| 72 | Palm Bay, FL | 901,202 | 19.7% | 2,995 | 16.2% |
| 73 | Buffalo, NY | 895,698 | 29.3% | 5,332 | 13% |
| 74 | Winston, NC | 887,747 | 34.7% | 5,309 | 19.8% |
| 75 | Little Rock, AR | 881,339 | 16.4% | 7,270 | 18.1% |
| 76 | New Haven, CT | 873,821 | 31.7% | 3,507 | 11.3% |
| 77 | Birmingham, AL | 868,625 | 15% | 5,830 | 11.8% |
| 78 | Ogden, UT | 850,846 | 13.9% | 5,686 | 45.9% |
| 79 | Bridgeport, CT | 821,281 | 28.7% | 10,171 | 48.3% |
| 80 | Hartford, CT | 805,952 | 18.5% | 6,120 | 12.8% |
| 81 | Deltona, FL | 804,448 | 20.3% | 4,793 | 25.4% |
| 82 | Baton Rouge, LA | 794,999 | 12% | 7,305 | 20.4% |
| 83 | Wichita, KS | 747,835 | 24.8% | 3,081 | 10.4% |
| 84 | Albuquerque, NM | 703,299 | 11.7% | 5,651 | 13% |
| 85 | Tucson, AZ | 678,803 | 11.3% | 7,227 | 11.9% |
| 86 | McAllen, TX | 646,240 | 22.1% | 3,705 | 31.5% |
| 87 | Toledo, OH | 626,454 | 24.9% | 3,239 | 9.3% |
| 88 | Bakersfield, CA | 566,010 | 9.7% | 2,198 | 12.2% |
| 89 | Springfield, MA | 527,777 | 34.4% | 584 | 2.5% |
| 90 | Syracuse, NY | 523,106 | 26.4% | 3,310 | 12% |
| 91 | Lakeland, FL | 509,744 | 13.2% | 3,191 | 17.5% |
| 92 | Oxnard, CA | 419,673 | 8.1% | 4,392 | 17.6% |
| 93 | Allentown, PA | 401,269 | 15.2% | 4,064 | 15.2% |
| 94 | Harrisburg, PA | 359,992 | 18.8% | 4,058 | 16% |
| 95 | Akron, OH | 334,637 | 11.6% | 2,596 | 7.9% |
| 96 | Fresno, CA | 319,214 | 5.3% | 3,961 | 8.9% |
| 97 | Stockton, CA | 219,210 | 4.4% | 2,020 | 11.4% |
| 98 | Poughkeepsie, NY | 158,620 | 4.9% | 2,166 | 11.2% |
| 99 | Honolulu, HI | 108,982 | 4.7% | 3,528 | 19.4% |
| 100 | Jackson, MS | 33,966 | 0.8% | 1,281 | 4.5% |
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