How to Find Cheap New York City Storage

By Molly Hammond, Storage.com

For young people in New York City, the neighborhood you call home says a lot about you. But there’s at least one thing that’s true of every area of NYC: extra space is a rare luxury. Fortunately, storage units are everywhere in urban areas, and you can snag one that won’t break the bank if you do your research.

Cost vs. Convenience

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When choosing to rent a storage unit in New York City, it all comes down to cost versus convenience. Do you want to save money, or do you want a storage facility that’s close to where you live? In most cases, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. Location plays a huge role in the cost of your storage unit. That’s because the storage demand in certain areas affects the cost of the storage unit rental. So depending on where you live in NYC, you may find that storage is either extremely affordable or extremely expensive.

Storage unit prices vary from borough to borough and even within different neighborhoods. A 5×5 storage unit in Manhattan’s East Village starts around $160 a month. In Chelsea, that same unit size goes for around $115 a month. In Downtown Brooklyn, you can find a 5×5 storage unit as cheap as $40 a month. Jump over to Astoria in Queens, however, and it’s around $75 a month. In the Hunts Point area of the Bronx, a 5×5 storage unit goes for $50 a month; in Highbridge, it’s nearly $90 a month.

When trying to save money on storage, renting a unit in a different neighborhood or borough can save you anywhere from $20-100 a month. If you’re not storing tons of stuff, say, just some valuables while you sublet your apartment or the winter clothes you definitely don’t need in a Manhattan August, then you can get away with renting a unit that’s farther away and cheaper. Of course, if you’re storing all of your apartment’s contents during a move or sublet, then convenience will be king, so a higher price may be worth it.

Understand How Amenities Affect Price

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When you start to compare the pricing of storage units, it’s easy to get thrown off by prices that are wildly different. The trick is to understand what amenities can cause higher and lower rates.

For storage units in urban areas like New York City, units on the ground floor are almost always more expensive because they’re more convenient for moving items in and out of the facility. Upper-level units, while more of a pain to move into, are more affordable and often considered to be safer simply because they can only be accessed through internal doors, stairwells, and elevators. So if you’re willing to do the work on move-in and move-out days in exchange for extra cash in your pocket, go for an upper-level unit.

Another thing to watch out for is a unit with climate control, which, in most cases, is more expensive to rent than a standard storage unit. While climate control is a useful amenity when storing sensitive items in your unit, such as antiques and electronics, it’s an unnecessary expense when you’re trying to save money.

Whether you’ll be moving things across town or choosing storage solely based on convenience, there’s a storage unit for you. Plenty of facilities in NYC offer great deals, first-month specials, and even free move-in services. As long as you do your research, you’ll be able to find a cheap New York City storage unit.

FIND CHEAP STORAGE IN NYC