Apartment construction has been booming in Dallas 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, Dallas has seen the third highest rate of new apartment construction nationwide over the past four decades. During that same period, Dallas has seen the 10th highest supply of self-storage space nationwide.

The report says self-storage facilities in Dallas 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 Dallas, 158,501 apartment units were developed from 1985 to 2024. Approximately 60,000 Dallas apartments were built within the last decade, which is twice as many units as were built from 2005-2014.

Dallas' skyrocketing apartment growth has drawn national attention over the last several years. For the past two years, Dallas-Fort Worth has had the second-highest rate of new apartment construction out of all major U.S. metros. It helps that Dallas 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 Dallas
StorageCafe's analysis has revealed apartments are getting smaller and smaller, thus leading to the surge in demand for storage solutions.

"The average [Dallas] unit fell from 932 square feet a decade ago to 899 square feet today — roughly the size of a walk-in closet lost per home," the report said. "With rentership also climbing to nearly 58 percent, the squeeze on living space is driving more residents toward self storage."

A 2025 rent analysis from sister site RentCafe found that Dallas renters on a $1,500 budget will be only able to afford an 814-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 happening in Dallas: Units 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, 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."

In Dallas, nearly 7.76 million square feet of self-storage space was developed from 1985-2024, the report found. The total amount of self-storage space in the city adds up to about 10.05 million square feet.

"As development ramped up, average unit sizes shrank by 30 square feet, reinforcing the move toward vertical, high-density living," the report said. "Storage needs rose accordingly: from 2015 to 2024, Dallas added 2.4 million square feet of self storage, three times the volume built in the previous decade."

The report added that a standard self-storage unit in Dallas rents for about $135 a month, which StorageCafe says is a clear indicator that "strong demand is keeping prices firm."

Dallas' senior population may also be contributing to the rise in self-storage usage. A separate Point2Homes insight report determined Dallas-Fort Worth saw the fifth-highest growth rate 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 Dallas renter needs to make over $71,000 a year to live in the city, it's no surprise people keep flocking to the suburbs, where both rent and home prices are much more affordable (not to mention the general improvement in livability).

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.

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

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

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