California self storage cost: what the largest owner files
No free source publishes an average self-storage price for California, by state or by unit size, so this page does not invent one. What can be checked is what the largest US operator reports to the SEC. Public Storage's Form 10-K, FY2025 gives annual realized rent per occupied square foot for its same-store facilities in four California metros (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento): from $21.70 in Sacramento to $35.76 in Los Angeles, against $22.54 across its whole US same-store portfolio. That is a relative map of where one big operator's rents run high, not a price for your unit.
By Oliver Wakefield-Smith. Reviewed 16 October 2026.
Public Storage's California metros, as filed
Public Storage Form 10-K, FY2025 / same-store / California
| Market | PSA same-store facilities | 2025 rent per occupied sq ft per year | Change vs 2024 | Occupancy 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 217 | $35.76 | -1.1% | 94.8% |
| San Francisco | 130 | $33.66 | +3.0% | 94.0% |
| San Diego | 22 | $30.51 | +2.4% | 93.9% |
| Sacramento | 34 | $21.70 | +0.2% | 92.8% |
| For comparison: All 2,565 US same-store facilities | 2,565 | $22.54 | +0.5% | 92.0% |
| For comparison: All other markets (outside the 25 named metros) | 673 | $16.28 | +0.4% | 91.5% |
Los Angeles
$35.76
per occupied sq ft a year · -1.1% vs 2024 · 94.8% occupied · 217 facilities
San Francisco
$33.66
per occupied sq ft a year · +3.0% vs 2024 · 94.0% occupied · 130 facilities
San Diego
$30.51
per occupied sq ft a year · +2.4% vs 2024 · 93.9% occupied · 22 facilities
Sacramento
$21.70
per occupied sq ft a year · +0.2% vs 2024 · 92.8% occupied · 34 facilities
For comparison: All 2,565 US same-store facilities
$22.54
per occupied sq ft a year · +0.5% vs 2024 · 92.0% occupied · 2,565 facilities
For comparison: All other markets (outside the 25 named metros)
$16.28
per occupied sq ft a year · +0.4% vs 2024 · 91.5% occupied · 673 facilities
Source: Public Storage, Form 10-K, FY2025, filed 12 February 2026, table "Same Store Facilities Operating Trends by Market" (page 35), read on SEC EDGAR 16 October 2026. Realized rent per occupied square foot is ANNUAL dollars, all unit sizes and climate types blended, net of discounts, across Public Storage's same-store facilities in each metro. It is one operator's figure, not a state or market average, not a monthly rent and not a quote for any unit. Other operators and independents in the same metro can price higher or lower.
Read the table as an ordering. In Public Storage's own portfolio, Los Angeles rent per occupied square foot is about 2.1 times its Dallas-Ft. Worth figure ($35.76 against $17.41), and about 1.6 times its Sacramento figure, inside the same state. Its three coastal California metros also run fuller than its US portfolio (92.0%), which is what a supply-constrained market looks like.
Do not multiply these figures into a monthly price for a 10x10 or any other size. The filed number blends every size and climate type, and small units rent for more per square foot than large ones, so the conversion needs a size-mix assumption nobody publishes. Cities not in the table (Fresno, Bakersfield, San Jose as its own market, Oakland and the rest) get no number here, because the filing gives none.
Why California storage costs what it does
California spans some of the dearest metros in the filing and some mid-table ones, and land is a large part of why. Coastal California and the inland valleys barely function as the same market: the ground under a facility in San Francisco or coastal Los Angeles costs a multiple of the ground under one in the Central Valley, and storage rent passes that through almost directly, because land is a large share of what a storage site costs.
Proposition 13. Under Proposition 13, real property is reassessed to market value only on a change in ownership or completion of new construction; between those events the assessed value can rise by no more than 2 percent a year (California State Board of Equalization, Publication 29, California Property Tax: An Overview, checked October 2026). A facility held for decades can therefore carry a much lower tax basis than a newly built competitor next door. Whether that holds back new supply is an argument, not a measured fact, but it is one reason the incumbents are hard to undercut.
CEQA and zoning. New commercial development in California goes through environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and many cities confine self storage to specific commercial or industrial zones. Both add time and cost to adding supply.
Seismic and fire codes. The California Building Code's seismic design requirements apply to new storage buildings, and in wildland-urban interface areas fire-resistant construction rules apply too. Construction cost feeds into the rent a new facility needs to charge.
Getting a real California quote
- Quote the same size at three facilities, including one 20 to 30 minutes away from the urban core. Land is the driver, so distance is the lever.
- Ask for the standard rate and the promotional rate separately. Public Storage's 10-K describes move-in offers such as "$1.00 rent for the first month", and says: "We typically increase rental rates to our long-term tenants (generally, those who have been with us for at least five months) every six to twelve months." Budget on the standard rate, not the promotion.
- Ask about fees and protection. Administration fee, lock, and whether a protection plan or proof of insurance is required, and what it costs per month.
- Decide on climate control by contents and location. Coastal units holding bins and tools rarely need it; inland units holding electronics, photographs or wood furniture often do.
- Check access and floor. Drive-up and ground-floor units usually cost more than upper-floor interior units of the same size.
California storage FAQ
How much does self storage cost in California in 2026?
Why is self storage so expensive in California?
Where in California is self storage cheapest?
Do I need climate-controlled storage in California?
Are there discounts for California military, students, or seniors?
Is self storage subject to sales tax in California?
Related
Texas storage cost
Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston in the filing
New York storage cost
The other coastal high-rent market
Cost by state
All 25 metros Public Storage files
10x10 cost guide
What fits and how to quote it
Public Storage pricing
Fees, increases and its 10-K
Ways to pay less
Distance, size and promo terms