CubeSmart cost: what its 10-K shows
CubeSmart owned 662 self-storage stores and managed 862 for third-party owners at 31 December 2025, 1,524 in all, the smallest of the three big public storage REITs. Its own annual report puts same-store rent at $22.73 per occupied square foot a year in 2025, essentially flat on $22.71. Below: what that figure does and does not tell you, where the company actually owns stores, and what its lease says about increases and fees.
What CubeSmart files about its rents
Same-store annual rent per occupied sq ft
$22.73
FY2025, 606 stores. $22.71 in FY2024.
Same-store average occupancy
89.7%
Period average for 2025. 90.4% in 2024.
Stores owned or managed
1,524
662 owned, 862 managed for others, at 31 December 2025.
All three figures come from CubeSmart's Form 10-K, FY2025 (filed 27 February 2026), read at source on 16 October 2026. The rent figure is annual dollars per occupied square foot across every unit size and market in the same-store pool, one operator, and it includes tenants who moved in years ago. It is not the price of any unit, and multiplying it by a unit's square footage will not give you that unit's rent, because small units usually carry a higher rate per square foot than large ones.
What it is good for is direction. Same-store rent per square foot barely moved between 2024 and 2025 while average occupancy slipped, and the same table shows same-store rental income down 0.7% on the year. CubeSmart also notes that its rental revenue includes the impact of promotional discounts, “which reduce rental income over the promotional period”. A soft year for the landlord is a reasonable moment to ask for a better move-in rate.
Source: SEC EDGAR, CubeSmart Form 10-K, FY2025, checked October 2026.
Why CubeSmart's filed rent is above Extra Space's
On the same-store measure each company files for 2025, CubeSmart sits at $22.73, Public Storage at $22.54 and Extra Space at $19.91. The pools are very different (606, 2,565 and 1,804 stores) and so are the markets in them. CubeSmart's owned stores include 61 in New York, a market where even Public Storage's filed same-store rent is far above its own portfolio average, which pulls a portfolio average up regardless of how any one store prices.
So the filed figure cannot tell you that CubeSmart is dearer or cheaper on your street. Only quotes can. Ask CubeSmart and its nearest competitors for the same size on the same day, and compare the rate after any introductory offer ends, not the headline.
Where CubeSmart owns stores
Owned stores by state at 31 December 2025, from the store-by-state table in its 10-K. CubeSmart owns stores in 25 states and the District of Columbia; the eleven largest are shown. It also manages 862 stores for other owners, which trade under the CubeSmart name and are not in this table, so its location finder is the final word for your address. The filing says it offers climate-controlled units at 560 of its owned stores.
CubeSmart owned stores / 31 Dec 2025
| State | Owned stores |
|---|---|
| Texas | 98 |
| Florida | 95 |
| California | 63 |
| New York | 61 |
| Arizona | 51 |
| Illinois | 47 |
| New Jersey | 30 |
| Connecticut | 27 |
| Georgia | 24 |
| Maryland | 22 |
| Nevada | 22 |
Source: CubeSmart Form 10-K, FY2025, stores by state table, checked October 2026.
Increases and fees, in the company's own words
CubeSmart does not publish a rate-increase schedule. Its 10-K describes its lease agreements, which vary slightly by state, as ones that “generally provide for automatic monthly renewals, flexibility to increase rental rates over time as market conditions permit and the collection of contingent fees such as administrative and late fees.”
So three things are built into the contract: it renews monthly, the rate can go up, and there are administrative and late fees on top of rent. The filing does not give the amounts. Ask for them at the counter, along with the price of the storage protection plan and whether your own contents policy can be used instead.
Ask before you sign
- What is the rate for this size today, and what is it once any introductory offer ends?
- When does the first rate review usually fall, and how much notice will I get?
- What is the administrative fee, and what is the total due on day one?
- What does the protection plan cost per month at each coverage level, and will you accept my own policy?
- Is this unit climate controlled, and what does a non-climate unit of the same size cost here?