Apartment construction has been booming in San Antonio for the last 40 years, fueling a surge in the number of self-storage facilities across the city, too. According to a new analysis from national storage space marketplace StorageCafe, San Antonio has seen the fifth-highest rate of new apartment construction nationwide over the past four decades. During that same period, San Antonio has seen the second-highest supply of self-storage space nationwide.
The report says self-storage facilities in places like San Antonio have become “an essential support system” for the city’s rental market growth. Everybody’s got to have a place to put their stuff.
The experts at StorageCafe analyzed apartment growth in 130 of the largest U.S. cities from 1985-2024, then compared it to the supply of self-storage facilities that were developed over the same 40-year period. The report also analyzed population growth, renting trends, and the prevalence of remote work over the past decade to provide additional context regarding the demand for storage space across all 130 cities.
In San Antonio, 134,871 apartment units were developed from 1985 to 2024. That’s about 63 percent of the total stock of apartments in the city, the report found.
The Alamo City’s skyrocketing apartment growth has drawn national attention over the last several years. It helps that San Antonio is so pet-friendly, as a majority of rental listings in the city allow tenants to have furry best friends.
The rise of self-storage in San Antonio
StorageCafe’s analysis has revealed that apartments throughout the U.S. are getting smaller and smaller, thus leading to the surge in demand for storage solutions. Apartments that were built within the last decade are about 75 square feet smaller on average than those that were built in the early 2000s, the report said.
“Coupled with the rise of remote work, which is blurring the lines between home and office, this steady loss of space is leaving many renters feeling the squeeze,” the report’s author wrote. “That’s where self storage steps in — not as a luxury, but a necessity… Behind every sleek new high-rise is a storage unit, holding the things that no longer fit but still matter.”
A 2025 rent analysis from sister site RentCafe found that San Antonio renters on a $1,500 budget will be able to afford a 1,013-square-foot apartment, but folks who are on a tighter budget will have to make do with a smaller space if they can’t afford a larger place to live.
About 13.42 million square feet of self-storage space was developed in San Antonio from 1985-2024, the report found. The total amount of self-storage space in the city adds up to more than 17.28 million square feet.
“The trend has accelerated in the last decade: nearly one-third of the total storage supply in San Antonio was delivered from 2015 to 2024, driven by population growth, economic expansion, and smaller new apartments,” the report said.
San Antonio’s senior population may also be contributing to the rise in self-storage usage. A separate Point2Homes insight report determined San Antonio-New Braunfels saw a 24 percent increase in senior renters nationwide from 2013 to 2023, with many seniors abandoning the “burdens” of homeownership to live closer to family, downsize, or cut costs to simplify their standard of living.
Considering that the average San Antonio renter needs to make $58,590 a year to live in the city, it’s no surprise people keep flocking to the suburbs instead.
Apartment growth elsewhere in Texas
Houston, Austin, and Dallas all joined San Antonio among the top five U.S. cities with the highest apartment growth rates over the last four decades.
Houston topped the list nationwide with 240,659 apartments built from 1985-2024. Developers also completed over 20 million square feet of self-storage space in the city during the same period, which was also the highest out of all 130 cities on the list.
Austin ranked second nationally with 189,438 units and about 7.5 million square feet of self-storage space built during the 40-year period.
Dallas claimed the No. 3 spot with more than 158,000 apartments built within the last four decades, and nearly 7.76 million square feet of self-storage space.
Meanwhile, neighboring Fort Worth ranked 20th on the list with 101,729 apartments built between 1985-2024, and more than 7.82 million square feet of self storage space developed during the same time.
The top 10 cities that have built the most new apartments since 1985 are:
- No. 1 – Houston, Texas
- No. 2 – Austin, Texas
- No. 3 – Dallas, Texas
- No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
- No. 5 – San Antonio, Texas
- No. 6 – Charlotte, North Carolina
- No. 7 – Los Angeles, California
- No. 8 – Orlando, Florida
- No. 9 –Manhattan, New York
- No. 10 – Las Vegas, Nevada