Sort by:

Storage Units in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA: Top Things to Know About Storage

Storage is Booming in Los Angeles

There are 129 storage facilities in Los Angeles. Of course, if you’ve spent any time in the City of Angels, you know that it’s always wise to factor in the rest of the sun-soaked sprawl that sort-of-kind-of-pretty-much counts as Los Angeles, when it comes to searching for your ideal facility. Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country, and like all big cities, it’s been through good times and bad. Hopefuls say that Los Angeles is slowly recovering from the 2007 collapse. Unemployment is down, wages are up and even though housing prices are on the rise (a one bedroom apartment will run you $1,949 a month on average), we like to think that’s just a reflection of more west coast loving folks moving to town in search of California love. As a result of these positive changes in the economy, people in Los Angeles are buying more stuff (yes, even people besides the Kardashians) and for locals who live in $1,800 a month 400 square foot micro-apartments, the need for a place to put those extra toys is crucial. According to Trojan Storage, many facilities in Los Angeles are seeing higher occupancy rates. As a renter, this affects you big time. Be sure to hone in on your ideal storage facility and reserve your spot in advance so you’re not forced to endure the nightmare of commuting from your apartment in West Hollywood to your unit in El Segundo.

Your Neighborhood is Crucial

Here’s the thing about Los Angeles: It’s actually a collection of 80 neighborhoods. Choosing which one is going to be your home sweet home involves a delicate balance of affordability, safety, affordability, convenience, affordability, trendiness and oh yes, affordability again. Wherever you land, it’s likely going to determine where you shop, eat and enjoy happy hour. You should factor your storage unit into this routine. Unlike the good people of some tiny town in the middle of Wyoming, Los Angelinos shouldn’t have to rent storage units farther than five miles away from where they live. Some areas, like Downtown Los Angeles, are harder to find storage in. Other parts of the city, like Van Nuys, make this quest a little easier. Think about it this way: If you’re someone who needs to visit your unit on a regular basis (like a small business owner), always stick within five miles of your apartment or office. If you’re using your unit for seasonal stuff like Christmas decorations and will be hitting it up less than once a month, expand your search radius and maximize your pricing options.

No, You Won’t Run Into a Celebrity at Your Storage Facility

Though there are a surprising number of celebrities in the self storage business, the odds of you running into one of them or a celebrity renter are sadly pretty slim. We asked around, and it turns out that even Los Angeles storage facility managers don’t really run into their celebrity clients. That doesn’t mean that celebrities don’t rent storage units, it just means that they have other people handle the details of actually storing and removing items as well as dealing with any paperwork. If you’re using your storage unit to keep select personal items safe and you’re concerned about the potential for unwanted individuals to access the information on your lease or the possessions in your storage unit, think like a celebrity and keep the paparazzi off your back by remembering your self storage privacy rights. Choose a facility that understands that your belongings and your contact information are just as valuable as whatever Brad Pitt is keeping in his storage unit these days. You storage facility might not be a low-key celebrity hotspot like Runyon Canyon, but it should be a place where your privacy is respected.

The Traffic Struggle is Real

The average Los Angeles resident spends about 80 hours in traffic a year. While public transportation does exist, it’s not as widely available or as widely used as it is in other cities. This means that you should plan on accessing your storage unit by car. For folks like landscapers, who are one of the largest populations in Los Angeles that rents storage units for commercial needs, accessing via car is crucial anyway, as the kind of equipment needed to make a desert backyard into an oasis can’t exactly be transported on foot. Consider a unit with drive up access if like the talented landscapers of Los Angeles, you too have heavy stuff to move in and out of your storage unit. The difference between walking a few hundred yards versus a few feet while carrying a heavy box of books or a large piece of furniture is actually a lot longer than you think. Los Angeles is a driving city, so if you’ve got a car, you might as well enjoy some drive up storage access. And as for those 80 hours of sitting in traffic per year? Accept the fact that the short drive to your storage facility will sometimes take 45 minutes and plan accordingly. If this seems daunting, just take a deep breath and use the traffic time to practice your monologue for that audition.

Storage FAQ's

Do you have advice on how to pack my storage space?
Yes, storage managers can provide you with tips and techniques on how to most efficiently utilize your storage space. Their hope is that you can have easy access to your items and that your storage space is worth every penny of your money.
Will the company have access to my space?
No, no one in the storage facilities has access to your space unless you specifically ask them or give them the right to do so. For example, you may want them to have access to your unit for things you may want delivered directly to your unit.
What security measures are taken to protect the storage units?
Security is every storage operator's priority. Speak with the storage manager of a facility of your liking in Los Angeles to find out what security measures they take to protect your belongings.
How long is the lease and what are its terms?
Storage companies in Los Angeles offer a month-to-month lease. If for some reason you would like to cancel your lease during a particular month, please contact one of the facility managers to assist you.
Can I rent climate-controlled spaces in Los Angeles?
Yes, climate-controlled spaces are available in Los Angeles due to the varying weather. Temperatures range from 48.2 to 57.2, which can dramatically affect things in your storage unit. For storing items such as wine, wooden items, electronics, metals, artwork, etc. storage facilities recommend that you rent a climate-controlled unit. For questions and more details, please contact a local facility.
What options do I have for payments? What forms of payment do you accept?
Most storage facilities accept cash, credit cards, or checks. Always ask about autopay, it's faster and much more convenient.
What storage space sizes are available?
In Los Angeles, there are 140 storage facilities, with a total of 69 storage units. Storage unit sizes generally range from 5' X 5' to 12' X 30'. Call one of your local facilities to have a representative find what size unit is best for you.
Do I need insurance for my storage unit?
We recommend that you get insurance for your belongings because the contents of the units are not insured through storage facilities.
If I lose my key, can you provide another one?
No, storage facility employees do not have copies of the keys used for the units. If you lose your key, check with the facility for lock cutting fees. They may also be able to sell another lock and key to you.
What if I need more or less space after I move in?
Once you move in and feel that you need to move into a smaller or bigger space, storage facilities are happy to accommodate your move. Before renting a space, it is recommended that you speak to a storage facility representative to help you find the best sized unit for your needs. If things change through the course of your lease, they will help make the transition to your next unit as efficient and simple as possible. We also have a size guide that may answer some preliminary questions you may have.
How do I know what size storage I need?
Storage managers would be happy to help you determine which size unit is best for you so that you're not paying for a 12' X 30' unit when you really need a 5' X 5' unit. Please reference our size guide for more information.
Do you accept deliveries for customers?
Most storage facilities in Los Angeles accept deliveries for their customers so that they don't have to go through the process of moving every time they need something to be placed in their storage units. They will keep your items in the office and will inform you when they arrive so that you can place them in your storage unit at your convenience.
Do you have pest control?
Most facilities in Los Angeles schedule professional pest control services every month, and twice a month during summer months.
What access will I have to my belongings?
You have 140 facilities to choose from in Los Angeles. Access hours range from 8 to 24 hours a day. Please contact your local facility for more specific information about your unit.
Do you provide your customers with movers?
No, storage facilities do not provide movers. However, managers and team members would be happy to provide you with a list of reliable and reasonably priced movers in Los Angeles. See our resource guide for movers in Los Angeles.
Do you sell boxes and moving supplies?
Yes, most storage facilities sell boxes of various sizes, tape, bubble wrap, labels, and other items for your packing and moving needs.
What are the prices of the storage spaces? Are prices based on the square footage of the storage space?
Generally the prices of storage units in Los Angeles vary based on the size of the storage unit and the location of the unit in the facility. Prices range between 73.5 and 854.5, but representatives can better assist you once they have the details of your storage needs.
Is there anything unique to keep in mind when choosing a storage facility in Los Angeles?
Some factors to keep in mind when choosing a storage facility in Los Angeles are: weather, peak rush hour times, items that you will be storing, and location within Los Angeles.
Will I receive a monthly invoice?
Most storage companies in Los Angeles only provide invoices upon request.
Do you have different policies and prices for students or active military members?
Students and active military members are clients that have unique needs because of the nature of their schedules. Most storage facilities in Los Angeles offer discounts to students, and discounts and different policies for active military members. Please call your local facility or see our students and active military members pages to get detailed and updated information.
Should I rent a drive-up or interior storage unit?
Drive-up storage units are typically more expensive and not as clean as interior units. Drive-up units are more exposed to the elements (water, dust, etc.) and are therefore not as clean as interior units. Interior units, on the other hand, have a much better climate. Essentially, the desire to rent a drive-up unit comes from clients thinking that they will be visiting their unit very frequently, which is surprisingly not the case. Most people don't come to their units as often as they think they will, so given the cost and cleanliness issues, it's better to rent an interior storage unit.

Los Angeles, CA Military StorageView Hide

Los Angeles, CA Military Storage

Compared to its southern neighbor of San Diego, Los Angeles isn’t a city dominated by its military presence. Chances are, if you’re headed to town on military business you’ll be stationed at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. The base is non-flying, but there’s still plenty of action on the ground. It’s the headquarters of the Space and Missile Systems Center, which researches and develops military space systems. Even if you’re not relocating to the base itself, you should still be aware that it serves all other active duty members of other military branches stationed in the area. If your list of questions about the area includes where to put all of your extra stuff once you move or are deployed, read on to find out what military members in Los Angeles need to know about storage.

Storage Near the Base

There are 277 storage facilities in Los Angeles. That’s a lot to choose from! How do you determine which one is for you? Start with the number one concern of self storage renters in mind: location. Los Angeles Air Force Base is in El Segundo. The military population (including families) is about 3,000. If you narrow down your storage facility options so that you’re only looking at those closest to the base, you’re still left with a long list of great options. If you want a unit that’s so close you could actually walk to it from work, check out Everest Self Storage. It’s only 1.3 miles away. US Storage Centers in Hawthorne is just 1.7 miles away. You can access both of these facilities straight from the base by car in under ten minutes. Trust us, any commute that’s that short in Los Angeles is nothing short of a miracle. Besides these two facilities, there are 14 other storage facilities less than 10 miles from the base. That’s about 6,600 individual units. That’s enough space for everyone on base to have at least two units alone (not that we recommend that).

How Your Housing Affects Your Storage Needs

The first thing any newcomer to L.A. wonders about is where to live. Military members stationed at the Los Angeles Air Force Base face the same dilemma but fortunately have a little more help than the average Craigslister does. Military personnel and their families have access to privatized housing through Terra Vista Communities. If you’re planning on taking advantage of this, remember that there can often be a wait list for a home. We suggest renting a storage facility and living somewhere temporarily while you wait to move up on the list. Your spot is based on your rank, so this should give you an idea of how long you’ll be needing your storage unit for. Another thing to keep in mind with Terra Vista Communities is the size of your new home. There are 365 different townhomes and apartments available through this housing option along with 30 historic homes set aside for officers and their families. Homes and apartments range from 1,190 square feet to 3,000 square feet. An easy way to determine how big of a storage facility you need is by comparing your current square footage and amount of bedrooms to that of your new home.

Security Considerations

As a military member, you’re used to being on the go. We know that you have more important things to worry about than whether or not your belongings are safe. If you’re active duty and your chances of being deployed are high, keep this in mind when choosing your storage facility. A good storage unit is secure (a great lock helps), well lit and only accessible to renters and staff. Quiz your facility manager on topics like how often gate codes are changed, how often he or she walks the property and what procedures are in place to prevent theft. If you can, ask any current renters you encounter about their experiences with safety on the property. They’re unbiased and will likely be honest. And of course, don’t be shy when it comes to asking about military discounts. Not all facilities will offer them, but it never hurts to carry your ID with you and ask.

Los Angeles, CA RV and Boat StorageView Hide

Los Angeles, CA RV and Boat Storage

While the wide highways and lack of low bridges in Los Angeles can sure make driving a big rig down the 405 easier, finding a place to park it can be challenging. That’s where self storage comes in. You shouldn’t have to give up your beloved RV or boat just because your landlord doesn’t want you to use your one allocated parking space for a vehicle that isn’t a car. And you also shouldn’t ever have to experience trying to hastily parallel park your RV on a different street because of weekly street cleaning (shudder). Let’s face it, driving around the dreamy City of Angels is anything but heavenly, and it’s even worse if you’re in an RV or towing a boat. Here’s the lowdown on RV and boat storage, and what Los Angelenos should factor in when considering it:

Think About Where Your Adventures Take You

If you’ve got a boat for Pacific adventures or an RV that looks really good parked on the beach, consider storing it as close to the ocean as possible. Stor-It Self Storage in Marina Del Rey is just one mile from the ocean. A-American Self Storage is just a 15 minute drive from lovely Santa Monica State Beach. If your Los Angeles apartment is disappointingly far from the beach but you happen to own an RV, consider storing it at US Storage Centers in Hawthorne. It’s just ten minutes away from Dockweiler RV Park which is Los Angeles county’s only RV park that actually sits right on the beach. If you prefer to use your RV or boat for adventures that require you to actually leave Los Angeles every once and a while (it has to happen at some point), you might want to look for storage on the outskirts of town. Sure, total pros can pull campers and boats down the highway like it’s no problem, but for the rest of us, we’ll deal with the stress of RV driving once we’re as far away from Downtown Los Angeles as possible, thank you very much.

Snowbirds and RV Storage

RV and boat storage isn’t just for locals. If home for you is somewhere much snowier than SoCal, you might be considering becoming a snowbird. For the uninformed, that’s someone (often an RV owner) who spends winters somewhere warm. With weather in the 70’s year round, Los Angeles is an incredible place to get precious UV rays and invest in a wardrobe that’s mostly t-shirts. If you’re loving the idea of making Los Angeles your winter home, why not skip the obnoxious commute and park your RV there year round? Nab an RV or boat storage spot with online bill pay and you can pay for the privilege of keeping your snowbird vehicle safe and sound in the Golden State when you’re not using it. At most, an RV gets 15 miles per gallon, so depending on where you live during the months when you’re not a snowbird, you could actually be saving money (not to mention wear and tear) by storing when you factor in how much it costs to drive your baby to the beach.

Security Considerations

With all of that crazy Los Angeles traffic, we don’t blame you if you don’t feel like visiting your boat or RV in storage every day. That’s why it’s important to remember the importance of security when choosing your storage facility. Your RV or boat is important to you, and you should store it in a place that gets that. Look for facilities that are well lit, gated, offer keyed access and security that patrols on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid to ask the facility manager as many questions as you can think of. This will give you a sense of how involved he or she is in walking the property and making sure that tenants are protected. You should also be sure to look at crime statistics. You can plug in the address of a storage facility you’re considering and see how much and also what types of crime happen nearby. If you have to store your RV or boat in an area where a lot of break-ins and vehicular thefts occur, be sure to be extra vigilant about making sure the property is secure, and remember, a cheap storage unit in a bad neighborhood isn’t actually a great deal if that results in damage to your stuff.

24 Hour Access

You spent the weekend camping at Anaheim RV Park and enjoying Disneyland. The storage facility where you store your RV is only a few miles away so that should take you 20 minutes tops, right? You’ll totally be there before the gates close. Any seasoned Los Angeles driver will tell you that hour long commutes and totally gridlocked highways are a common occurrence. For most people, this is a minor (okay, major) annoyance. If the only place where you can store your RV or boat is your storage facility, it can be a total disaster. Los Angeles traffic is the second worst in the country, so while you can’t always count on that ride to your storage unit being a breeze, you can count on it being open when you finally get there if you opt for 24 hour access.

Los Angeles, CA University StorageView Hide

Los Angeles, CA University Storage

Like the city itself, Los Angeles universities sprawl across miles of oceanside landscape. For storage renters, this makes choosing the right facility all the more important. If you’re headed to college in the SoCal city where the sun is always shining (except during June Gloom) and dreams are rumored to occasionally come true, you’re probably attending one of three public universities or one of many private or community schools. While it seems like everyone moves to Los Angeles to be an actor or a model (or a waiter who thinks he’s an actor or a model), we know as well as you do that it takes brains to get into one of the city’s fine universities. We suggest applying that same intellect to picking out a student friendly storage unit.

Why Students Need Storage

It’s tempting to store all of your extra stuff with your parents, but part of being a college student means learning to be an adult (well, an adult who subsists on a diet of mostly Bagel Bites) and you’re going to have to get your belongings out of your childhood room at some point. If you’re traveling from out of state to attend college in Los Angeles, you might be considering mailing things home or paying for like ten extra checked bags at the airport. You might be surprised to learn that storing as a student is cheaper than you realize and is often cheaper than paying costly postage or checked baggage fees. Many storage facilities offer special storage rates for students that are advertised on campus. In addition to this, most storage facilities rent month-to-month, so unlike that gross apartment that you’re stuck living in for a year because of the lease you signed, your storage unit is a pretty low level of commitment. According to local Los Angeles facility managers, students are one of the highest populations of renters. That means that it’s easier to find a spot at a property that understands the needs of college students like you.

Don’t Let Moving Cramp Your Style

During your Los Angeles college years, you’ll probably move a few times. If you attend Occidental College, a school where most students live on campus, you’ll probably spend a considerable amount of time living in university owned housing. If you attend the significantly larger University of California, Los Angeles, you might want to spend your freshmen year living in the dorms so that you can develop a core group of friends and then find an off campus apartment with them. Whatever you end up doing, you can use storage to make the transition between places seamless. Students actually cite moving as the number one reason for using storage. Starting college and moving into a tiny dorm? Store your stuff until you’re ready to upgrade into an apartment. Living in an apartment and longing for the sense of community that comes from being in the dorms? As Missy Elliott says, flip it and reverse it. Put your stuff in storage. Rushing a sorority or fraternity and finding that the living conditions aren’t as glamorous or spacious as they’re depicted in movies? Storage again.

Carless in Car City

Los Angeles is a driving city, but if you’re from out of state, you might not be bringing a car with you (and on campus parking spots can be restrictive to freshmen anyway). It’s true that Los Angeles isn’t known for its walkability, but you know what the exception is? Universities. If you’re attending the second most beautiful campus in the country, we don’t see why you’d ever want to drive away from campus in the first place. Still, don’t think that your lack of vehicle means that you can’t have a storage unit. If you’re planning on accessing your storage unit often, look for one that’s accessible by bus. If you attend the University of Southern California, you can rent a unit at US Storage Centers which is just a 35 minute bus ride away (considering how mediocre Los Angeles public transportation is, this is actually pretty reasonable). If you don’t anticipate visiting your unit more than a few times a semester, remember that Los Angeles has ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft. Keep your commute from school to your storage facility around 15 minutes (like the ride from USC to US Storage Centers) and it’ll be relatively cheap as long as you watch out for surge pricing. If public transportation isn’t your style and you rock a flip phone and are unable to utilize rideshare services, end your woes with portable storage. It’s pricier, but totally hassle free.

You Probably Don’t Need Climate Control

Los Angeles is expensive. Unless you’re living the high life in Beverly Hills, you’re probably on a budget. If you’re a student, you’re on a super budget. When choosing your storage unit, it’s important to make sure you’re not paying for anything you can’t afford. You can keep costs low by choosing a unit that doesn’t have unnecessary fees for things you don’t need. If you’re considering climate control, consider what you’re storing and where your school is located. If you’re just storing books, clothing and some couch you found on the side of the road, you probably don’t need climate control at all. If you’re storing something slightly more important (like a delicate design you made as a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising), you probably still don’t need it, but you might want to consider it. Students who are most likely to benefit from climate controlled units are those who live closer to the ocean (like Pepperdine University students) and are storing items like lace dresses, antique furniture or anything else that can be warped by the elements.

1 of 5