In a city of small apartments and constant turnover, Queens just claimed the crown—for self-storage.
Queens recorded the highest volume of self-storage space sales in the United States in 2024, with neighboring Brooklyn not far behind, according to a recent report by the storage facility site Storage Cafe.
Roughly $101.3 million worth of self-storage space was sold in Queens last year—surpassing all other U.S. cities. It outpaced second-place Cerritos, California, which reported $91 million in self-storage sales.
Beyond its top ranking in total sales volume among the 371 cities analyzed, Queens also placed high in other categories. The borough ranked 13th nationwide in total square footage sold, with 260,372 square feet, and placed third in average sale price per square foot, at $389. Only Conway, South Carolina ($748) and Manhattan ($433) had higher average rates.
Brooklyn also showed strong performance in the storage space market, ranking fourth nationally in total sales at $60.1 million. While lower than Queens in overall value, Brooklyn edged out its neighboring borough in square footage, selling 269,872 square feet—ranking just above Queens. Brooklyn also ranked fifth in average price per square foot at $345, just two spots below Queens.
The report suggests that the New York City market—particularly in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan—is proving to be an increasingly attractive and competitive hub for self-storage investment. The city’s combination of dense housing, limited space, frequent resident turnover, and rising demand has created ideal conditions for the industry.
Nationwide, 822 self-storage properties were sold in 2024, totaling $3 billion in transactions. The national average sale price per square foot was $108, far below the New York City borough averages.
