Apartment construction has been booming in Austin 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, Austin had the second highest rate of new apartment construction nationwide over the past four decades. During that same period, Austin produced the 11th highest supply of self-storage space in the U.S.

The report says self-storage facilities in places like Austin 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 in remote work over the past decade to provide additional context regarding the demand for storage space across all 130 cities.

In Austin, 189,438 apartment units were developed from 1985-2024. That's nearly 80 percent of the total apartment inventory in the city, the report found.

Austin's skyrocketing apartment growth has drawn national attention over the last several years. In 2023 and 2025, it was named the city with the No. 1 highest apartment construction rates nationwide, and it ranked third in 2024. It helps that Austin is so pet-friendly, with a majority of rental listings in the city allowing tenants to have furry best friends.

The rise of self storage in Austin
StorageCafe's analysis has revealed apartments are getting smaller and smaller, thus leading to the surge in demand for storage solutions. In fact, apartments built in Austin over the last decade have shrunk by 50 square feet, the report found.

A 2025 rent analysis from sister site RentCafe found that Austin renters on a $1,500 budget will only be able to afford a 780-square-foot apartment, which further strains a renter's space if they can't afford a larger place to live.

Apartment shrinkage isn't just a problem in Austin: Apartments throughout the U.S. that were built within the last decade are about 75 square feet smaller on average than those that were built in the early 2000s.

"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."

Nearly 7.5 million square feet of self-storage space was developed in Austin from 1985-2024, the report found, while the total amount of self-storage space in the city adds up to about 9.83 million square feet.

Austin's senior population may also be contributing to the rise in self-storage usage. A separate Point2Homes insight report determined Austin-Round Rock saw a massive 81 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 Austin renter needs to make nearly $69,000 a year to live in the city, it's no surprise people keep flocking to the suburbs instead.

Apartment growth elsewhere in Texas
Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio all joined Austin 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.

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.

San Antonio ranked No. 5 with 134,871 units developed and nearly 13,42 million square feet of self storage space built.

Meanwhile, 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