Atlanta, GA Self-Storage Market Report

Market Overview

Atlanta is the most populous city in Georgia, with nearly 500,000 residents. The metro area boasts over 6.14 million residents. It is the principal commercial and transportation center of the Southeastern United States, also serving as a major educational center. Atlanta is home to many prestigious schools, including Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia State University. The educated workforce is what attracts corporations to conduct business operations in the market.

 

The self-storage market in Atlanta has recently been driven by an increase in residents moving to the city. In 2022 alone, the market saw an increase of 65,000 people, a year-over-year change of 7.2%. Generally speaking, job and population growth are the big drivers of self-storage development in markets like Atlanta. Roughly 35% of the population rents homes or apartments, leading to limited space for items and demand for storage solutions. According to Metro Atlanta CEO, roughly 40% of current storage users reported a lack of space at home as their primary reason for renting self-storage, overtaking relocating, which was reported at 34%.

 

The self-storage sector has maintained an active development pipeline in recent years as high average occupancy and rental rates pushes development in the market. According to Rent Cafe, more than 1.4 million square feet of self-storage space is set to be delivered across metro Atlanta in the next two years.

 

Average Monthly Searches for self-storage space in Atlanta had one of the largest spikes in searches from 2019 to 2033, jumping an astounding 314%. Source: MetroAtlantaCEO

 

Currently, the average cost of a 10×10 storage unit in Atlanta is $144 per month, a decrease of 7.1% compared to last year. Nationally, self-storage rates for 10×10 non-climate-controlled units saw a 3.8% year-over-year decrease, registering an average of $128 in June 2023. (Source: Storage Café).

 

Key Insights

Source: Yardi Matrix

• Under-Construction Supply by Percentage of Existing Inventory: 3.8%
• Average Metro Rate (10×10 non cc): $111
• Year-Over-Year Rent Change for 10×10 Units (June 2022 vs. June 23):
  • Non CC: -7.7%
  • CC: -8.5%
• Month-over-Month % Change in Rent: 0.9%