If you have been thinking about how many storage units per acre you can fit in, you are not alone. It is one of the most frequently asked questions for self storage business owners when starting or building their business.

It is an important question, and business owners must find the right answer before entering such a competitive market. If you are new to the self storage business, it might be difficult to estimate the number of storage units you can fit per acre.

The process of setting up a self storage facility from start to finish will begin with your initial research into the number of facilities you can set up, and end with choosing the right self storage management software.

This guide answers all your initial questions about how many storage units per acre are feasible for a business owner. Once you have decided on this, make sure to read the next steps you need to take in starting a self storage business. Let’s dig in and explore the details.

How Big is an Acre of Land?

Before estimating how many storage units per acre, you need to understand what the size of an acre of land is in terms of the space it offers. According to an estimate, an acre of land is about 43,560 square feet of space.

From the real estate perspective, you can fit in around 15 average-sized homes on one acre of land. All these calculations and estimation indicates that one acre of land is a pretty spacious area.

What is the Average Size of a Storage Facility?

Self storage facilities can range from 10,000 and 100,000 square feet. The average size of a storage facility in the US is around 56,000 square feet and 46,000 net rentable square feet. Most self storage facilities that are built on one acre of land are multi-story with advanced self storage management software to monitor operations remotely.

What is the Average Number of Units in a Self Storage Facility?

According to ProjectionHub, a survey of 10,000 storage units shows that the average number of storage units per facility is 546. This represents the units in an average self-storage unit with around 46,000 and 50,000 net rentable square feet of space.

2 Factors Affecting the Number of Units per Acre

Several factors affect the number of storage units you build in a storage facility. Here are two of the most important factors among them.

Units Mix

Will your storage facility units all be the same size or a mix of different sizes? What is the ideal size of a storage unit according to your customers? If your target customers are homeowners, you can build more 10x10 storage units. On the other hand, consider a smaller unit size for apartment renters and a larger size for businesses.

Coverage rates

The coverage rate refers to the percentage of land or property that is covered by a building or structure. In the context of storage facilities, it specifically refers to the percentage of land that is covered by storage units.

The coverage rate of a storage facility depends on several factors, such as local zoning regulations, building codes, and the specific layout and design of the facility.

The coverage rate of your storage facility decides how many storage units per acre you can fit in. Self-storage facilities averagely have a coverage rate between 30% and 50%. The maximum limit usually does not exceed 50% in all storage facilities.

How Many Storage Units Per Acre?

Let’s find out the number of storage units per acre you can easily fit in depending on the type of self storage facility. Although one acre equals 43,560 square feet of space, you do not have 43,560 square feet of buildable space.

Simply dividing 43,560 by the size of the storage units you want to build will not work.

A self storage facility has other things also, such as the driveway and water runoff. Depending on how often storage units get broken into in your area, you will need space for fencing and other security measures. Due to this, the average buildable space available in one-acre land is around 15,000 and 20,000 square feet.

The number of units depends on the unit mix you choose. For simplification purposes, let’s assume that you will build all 10x10 storage units. Each unit will consume around 100 square feet of space; thus, you can fit 150-200 storage units in an acre of land.

For Boat and RV Storage

If you are building boat and RV storage, you have to build parking stalls instead of storage units. On average, a parking stall is around 350 square feet. Based on this assumption, you can build 60 to 70 parking stalls on an acre.

Some Important Considerations for Storage Units

While deciding the number of storage units to build in a storage facility, you must consider some important things.

• Calculating how many storage units per acre is only for an estimate of the storage parcel. It does not mean that you need to build all these storage units. You can always design your building plan according to the market demand in the specific area.

• The unit mix you choose does not solely depend on how many storage units per acre you can fit. It significantly depends on the demographics of your target customers.

• You have to dedicate some land space to water runoff. Always check with the concerned building department of your area to determine the right space according to stormwater retention regulations.

Is a Storage Facility a Good Investment?

When you plan to build a storage facility on an acre of land, you may ask yourself whether owning a self storage unit business is profitable. In short - yes it is! You can do many profitable things with an acre of land, and storage development is one of them.

Owning a self storage facility in a high-demand area is a very lucrative business opportunity. All you need to do is understand your customer, collect market information, and use automated self storage software to effectively execute your business plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much space is in a 10x10 storage unit?

A 10x10 storage unit represents a storage area which is 10 feet wide and 10 feet long. This totals up to around 100 square feet of storage space. Usually, 10x10 storage units have an 8 ft. ceiling that increases the storage space up to 800 cubic feet.

How many square feet is a 10x20 storage unit?

A 10x20 storage unit is around 200 square feet having 10 feet of width and 20 feet of length. This lot size is spacious enough to store large appliances and bulky items.

Are storage units profitable?

Yes, storage units are profitable. The profitability and price per square foot of each storage unit varies depending location, facility security, and extra amenities. On average, storage units enjoy profit margins of around 41%.

What are the four types of storage facilities?

The four popular types of storage facilities are container storage, mobile storage, drive-up storage, and lock-ups. They may or may not have climate-controlled features besides other modern amenities.

What can be built on 1 acre?

There are multiple options to build on 1 acre of land. Some popular options include a storage facility, a garage, a farm, a shed, a barn, multiple houses, a large garden, and rental properties.

How many trucks fit in 2 acres?

If the land is functionally used as a parking spot, around 70-80 trailers can fit in 2 acres of land without a truck cab. This calculation considers each truck to be 53’ long.

How big is the 20x20 storage?

A 20x20 storage is around 400 square feet of space. It is as big as two large garages. You can use it for storing bulky items, inventory, and vehicles.

How many square feet is a 10x30 storage unit?

A 10x30 storage unit is around 300 square feet. It is a large storage unit, big enough to store full-sized vehicles. This size suits storing items for home moving, vehicles, and commercial inventory storage and will have a higher rental rate.

How big is a 10x18 storage unit?

A 10x18 storage unit is roughly around the size of two bedrooms. It offers around 180 square feet of storage space. It is big enough to carry the contents of a home during relocations and home renovations.