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Self Storage Association Fact Sheet

Preamble

NOTE: For those persons who seek specific data and information, please make use of our  SSA FOCUS Reports.

The Self Storage Association (SSA), since 1975, has been the official not-for-profit (IRS Code section 501-c-6) trade association representing the self storage industry and the registered lobbying organization before the Unites State Congress and the federal agencies. The SSA publishes the "official voice of the self storage industry," the SSA Globe magazine on a monthly basis. The magazine is the industry’s largest paid-circulation magazine and has a monthly circulation of approximately 15,000 and a national annual readership in excess of 500,000.

The SSA represents the huge U.S. self storage industry that is comprised of some 50,000 facilities. The SSA estimates that in 2009 the industry had total sales of more than $22 billion (USD). The average U.S. self storage facility has approximately 46,200 square feet of rentable space and pays an average of between $30,000 and $40,000 per year in local property taxes. The entire industry pays more than $3.0 billion per year in local property taxes nationwide.

The SSA is governed by an elected national Board of Directors comprised of 12 leading owner-operators, vendors and property managers. The staff of 15 professionals and advisors is directed by an appointed President and CEO; the national headquarters is located in Alexandria, Virginia conveniently located across the river from Washington, DC.

The SSA offers products, services and programs in the following areas of core competency:

  • Data & Information
  • Advocacy & Lobbying
  • Networking, Meetings & Trade Shows
  • Communications & SSA Globe magazine
  • Executive Education & Employee Training
  • Research & Studies
  • Technology Tools
  • Rewards & Benefits of Membership
  • Association Relations (State & National organizations)
  • Membership Services
  • Publications
  • Legal Education, Resources & Information

The SSA has several subsidiary organizations:

  • The Self Storage Association Foundation (SSAF) [IRS Code section 501-c-3] oversees the educational programs of the Association and the publication of the monthly SSA Globe magazine.
  • SSA InternationalThe Self Storage Association International (SSAI) is a new subsidiary that maintains membership relations with four (4) international associations representing Asia, Australia, Japan and twelve European countries. SSA has members in 29 nations across the globe, providing them with electronic news and information and other specialized services. There are approximately 8,000 self storage facilities outside the United States. Special International memberships are available via info@selfstorage.org.
  • Self Storage Association Enterprises (SSAE) Self Storage Association Enterprises (SSAE) houses the for-profit enterprises of the Association including its Web site (www.selfstorage.org), its advertising revenues and business programs such as the SSA Commercial Accounts Program.
  • Self Storage Association Political Action Committee (SSA-PAC) is a registered political action committee for federal office candidates.

(As of 4/1/10)

  • The self storage industry has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the United States commercial real estate industry over the period of the last 35 years
  • There are now approximately 46,000 “primary” self storage facilities in the United States as of year end 2009; another 4,000 are “secondary” facilities (“primary” means that self storage is the “primary” source of business revenue – US Census Bureau)
  • There are approximately 58,000 self storage facilities worldwide as of Q4 – 2009; there are more than 3,000 in Canada and more than 1,000 in Australia.
  • Fewer than 250 new self storage facilities came on line in the U.S. during 2009; the trend in new construction is down significantly the last four years
  • Total self storage rentable space in the US is now 2.22 billion square feet (as of Q4-2009) [approximately 210 million square meters].  That figure represents more than 78 square miles of rentable self storage space, under roof – or an area well more than 3 times the size of Manhattan Island (NY)
  • U.S. self storage facilities pay a total of more than $3.0 billion in property taxes to local government  jurisdictions.
  • The distribution of U.S. self storage facilities (Q4-09) is as follows:  32% urban, 52% suburban and 16% rural
  • The average revenue per square foot varies from facility to facility; however, here are the year-end data for 2008:  Traditional facility: $8.40 psf; Hybrid facility: $9.65 psf; Big Box facility: $11.07 psf; Conversion facility: $10.68 psf. (2009 year-end data is being processed at this time.)
  • Primary U.S. self storage facility gross revenues for 2009 were approximately $22.0 billion [or a national average (mean) of $444,000 per facility or national average (mean) of $9.52 of gross annual revenue per rentable sq. ft. (all types of facilities combined)]
  • Nearly 1 in 10 US households (HH), or 10% (10.8 million of the 113.3 million US HH in 2007) currently rent a self storage unit; that has increased from 1 in 17 US HHs (6%) in 1995 – or an increase of approximately 65 percent in the last 15 years
  • At year-end 1984 there were 6,601 facilities with 289.7 million square feet (26.9 million square meters) of rentable self storage in the U.S.  At year end 2009, there are approximately 46,000 “primary” self storage facilities representing 2.21 billion square feet
  • Nationally, at year-end 2009 all self storage facilities employed approximately 160,000 persons, or an average of 3.2 employees per facility
  • The average (mean) size of a “primary” self storage facility in the US is approximately 46,200 square feet
  • The top-5 self storage companies, including the 4 public companies (Public Storage, Extra Space, Sovran and U-Store-It REITS – Real Estate Investment Trusts) plus U-Haul (a public company/ non-REIT), own and operate some 4,750 self storage facilities, or about 10% of all primary facilities (or 9.5% of all US facilities)
  • There are another 30,230 (non-Top-5) companies that own and operate the remaining 45,250 self storage facilities (an industry-wide average of 1.5 “primary” facilities per non-Top-5 company)
  • An important subset of that total: there are some 27,650 small business entrepreneurs (90% of all self storage companies) who own and operate just one “primary” self storage facility
  • There is a self storage space inventory of 19.2 sq.ft. per U.S. household
  • There is 7.0 sq.ft. of self storage space for every man, woman and child in the nation; thus, it is physically possible that every American could stand – all at the same time – under the total canopy of self storage roofing
  • More than 700,000 self storage units nationwide are rented to military personnel (4% of all units); however, in communities adjacent to domestic US military bases military occupancy can be from 20%-95% of all rented units
  • SSA members value military personnel as self storage customers and traditionally extend special incentives and discounts to those with a valid military ID card, such as: 10%-30% discounts off rental rates, free months of rent, gift certificates, free use of moving truck, “one-dollar move-ins,” no rent increases while deployed overseas, waiver of security deposits, administration fees, etc.
  • It took the self storage industry more than 25 years to build its first billion square feet of space; it added the second billion square feet in just 8 years (1998-2005)
  • During the peak development years (2004-2005) 8,694 new self storage facilities (approximately 480 million square feet of space were added)
  • Gross square footage of self storage “per capita” in the US (at the state level) ranges from 1.60 to 18.65 square feet
  • 83.9 percent of all US counties (or 2,634 out of 3,141) have at least one “primary” self storage facility
  • (And here’s a stat that SSA is rightly proud of) – 95.4 percent of current SSA direct members say YES! They would recommend SSA membership to other self storage owner-operators.  (There’s still room for improvement, though.)

SSA Sources:

The above facts are merely a light sampling of industry data available.  Much more detail may be gained by reviewing the above SSA studies. Copies of these studies are available for sale in SSA's online store.



Related Files
SSA Fact Sheet (Adobe PDF File)
(C) 2010 Self Storage Association