---
title: "Why are millennials an important self-storage customer?"
description: "**Short answer:** Millennials are the largest U.S. generation and a growing share of storage customers. Mark’s research contradicts the old stereotypes: many own homes and other real estate, run side businesses, move often and expect to inherit property, all of…"
url: "https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.com/docs/millennials-self-storage-customers/"
updated: "2026-10-16"
category: "Marketing & Customers"
---

# Why are millennials an important self-storage customer?

**Short answer:** Millennials are the largest U.S. generation and a growing share of storage customers. Mark’s research contradicts the old stereotypes: many own homes and other real estate, run side businesses, move often and expect to inherit property, all of which create storage needs. He now tracks this group in trade-area demographics.

## The stereotype vs what Mark found

A few years ago millennials were often described as financially careless, entitled or slow to launch. Mark’s own experience with millennial business partners didn’t match that, so he did his own research rather than rely on talking points. At the ISS expo he attended, millennials were reported at more than 20% of storage customers, up from about 16% a year earlier.

## Why they drive storage demand

- **Size.** Roughly 74 million people, about 22% of the U.S. population.
- **Assets.** Most own some form of asset, and many own homes. Real estate strategies such as house hacking, short-term rentals and fractional investing are common, along with buying small businesses.
- **Inheritance.** A large share expect to inherit real estate. Dealing with a parent’s home and belongings often means months of storage, and Mark believes that transfer is only now entering its steepest stretch.
- **Lifestyle.** They tend to move more often and run more side businesses, and own more than fits at home.

## Using it in trade-area analysis

Mark now looks specifically at the size and growth of the millennial population in a trade area. It isn’t a deciding factor on its own, but it’s one he previously ignored.

## Related answers

- [Why do landing pages still matter in self-storage marketing?](/docs/self-storage-landing-pages/)
- [How should you set goals and a budget for lease-up marketing?](/docs/self-storage-lease-up-marketing-plan/)
- [Why should self-storage operators sell benefits instead of competing on price?](/docs/sell-benefits-not-price/)

**Source:** Mark’s post [Rethinking the Millennial Customer – A Force of Nature for Self-Storage](/rethinking-the-millennial-customer-a-force-of-nature-for-self-storage/)

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