How severe is the shortage of affordable housing opportunities? Well, a new survey has found one in five Americans have slept in a storage unit.
The survey of 2,000 adults commissioned by StorageUnits.com found 24% of respondents saying they only spent one night in a unit, while nearly half (49%) stayed for a few nights, and others reported spending a week (13%), multiple weeks (10%), several months (2%), a year (1%), and more than a year (1%). Men were twice as likely as women to report sleeping in a storage unit (28% vs. 13%).
What inspired this unlikely housing solution? The survey found 26% of respondents admitting they were experiencing homelessness, while others were in between places (30%), renovating their home (16%), or had a conflict with a roommate or partner (15%). In most cases (79%), the unit belonged to the person who stayed there.
The survey also found that 84% of Americans would consider sleeping in a storage unit if they became homeless. And while it is illegal to live in a storage unit, 55% of respondents said it should be legal if someone pays to rent it. Only 17% said it should remain illegal, while 29% were unsure.
“People often turn to storage units during major life transitions that may result in a move, such as divorce, job loss, or needing to downsize,” says Reagan Phillips, home organization and storage expert at StorageUnits.com. “As a result, the unit becomes more than just a storage space. Because so much of what matters to them is there, it can feel like the one place that’s truly theirs when everything else feels uncertain. I can see why someone, particularly if they don’t have a safe, affordable place to go, might spend hours there, or maybe even sleep there.”
I have a feeling that the survey StorageUnits.com conducted was among 2000 of their own patrons – you know, people who rent storage units, and not the general population. That’s worth looking into before trying to extract any relevant information, or taking the time to sit and write an article.
1 in 5??!! Was the survey taken at a homeless shelter?
I’m sorry, but this is one survey I do not believe at all. The conductors must be skewing this with their own/known respondents to make their case for sensational publicity.
No mention on the survey about the participants financial situation. This leads me to believe that many of the person’s seeking shelter along with their possessions in a storage unit may have been suffering through very rough financial times!
It is an interesting question. You can afford the cost to shelter your possessions, but you cannot afford a roadside motel? What priceless item did you store that needed you to be there and assure its safety??? Gold, silver, precious stones, guns, rare collectables????
With the cost of a run down motel being $100 in most markets, the affordability of a “roadside motel” is not like it used to be.
#TheGreatReset
Then rent an apartment with a roommate, you can get them under $600/month each and still be in the city center near jobs. That’s $20/day ffs. Or what someone can make, after tax, in two hours of flipping burgers.
This is a bit ridiculous, to characterize this as having ‘lived’ in a storage unit is silly.
Meaningless stat!
Hahah, what a riot. That’s like the mental health scam ads I hear on the radio saying “60% of the global workforce blah blah blah…” Or, how about “1 in 3 children suffer from hunger”? Is WRE the new Weekly World News? The whole “affordable housing” scam is like green energy, the “student loan crisis”, climate change, covid, big pharma vaccinations and on and on. It’s all about the money from government.
come one wre. maths
I’m calling BS on this survey too!
I can believe in UFOs, the Lost Ark, even Marvel superheroes existing somewhere out there—but 20% of Americans sleeping in storage units?! Come on.
I looked into the source: Phil Hall cites an article written by [email protected], who got their data from a “Pollfish” survey conducted online with 2,000 U.S. adults. That methodology raises all kinds of red flags. Unless they conducted this survey at a specific homeless encampment or went door-to-door at shelters with tablets, these numbers just don’t track with reality.
As real estate professionals having worked closely with buyers, sellers, and tenants that have storage units, I can tell you: if one in five people had truly slept in a unit, we’d have heard about it—a lot. Yes, I’ve seen people use them as quiet spots for hobbies or side gigs, maybe even the occasional afternoon nap—but overnight sleeping? Rare. And most facilities have strict security, cameras, and policies to prevent exactly that.
In full disclosure, if you’re going to publish stats this wild, full transparency is needed: who exactly was surveyed, what city, where, and how AND who, etc criteria? Who came up with the criteria? Otherwise, this reads more like clickbait than credible data.
Pollfish is a just a “survey platform” which means most likely they didn’t come up with the question nor criteria (who/what company did that) and even their platform states polling can have crappy results if you had crappy criteria!
https://resources.pollfish.com/market-research/how-polling-software-disproves-that-polls-dont-work/
I believe that everyone that has read this article would like to know.
Of course the surveyed clients of the storage unit. I might believe that 1 in 5 families RENT a storage unit. this publication always has incorrect statistics. I’ve gotten to the point I generally dont even open it.
As the editor, I would like to respond to the assertion that “this publication always has incorrect statistics.” This publication takes its reporting very seriously and goes out of its way to ensure the information presented is accurate.
Our coverage data reports are culled from government agencies, trade organizations, colleges and universities, and well-respected companies within the real estate and housing sectors.
Every week, this publication is presented with surveys (almost always presented by vendors for specific projects and services) that we decline to publish because we are concerned that the results are being slanted to push a specific agenda. This survey was obviously not trying to push an agenda because living in a storage unit is illegal, and it would be illogical for StorageUnits.com to encourage such behavior. Nor is there anything in the survey report to suggest that the polling was exclusive to storage unit clients.
The survey in this article was conducted by PollFish, one of the most prominent surveying firms whose clients include the Fortune 500 companies, and was presented for consideration by StorageUnits.com, one of the major platforms within the storage industry. As per the original report – https://www.storageunits.com/1-in-5-americans-have-slept-in-a-storage-unit/ – you are welcome to question the results by contacting [email protected] and sharing your doubts.
Housing is NOT expensive. It’s only expensive if you’re trying to live in a very high demand area. For example, in Houston — the 4th largest city in the US — you can get 1 beds in great central areas of town like Montrose for under $1000/month. Or you can split a 2 bed and there are tons for under $1,500/month. And this isn’t BFE, or a war zone area of Houston. If you’re willing to go a bit further you can pay even less.