Las Vegas, NV: Top Things to Know About Storage

The State of Storage in Las Vegas

If you’ve seen a few of those "What Happens Here, Stays Here" ads, you might think that Vegas is a place where people bet life savings on poker, mingle with girls dressed all in feathers and slink out of smoky casinos into the punishing desert sunlight. But beneath all of the glitz, glamor and drunk tourists ziplining over Fremont Street lies something even more unexpected: real people. And real people need storage units.

In the state of Nevada, there are 426 storage facilities. 249 of those are in the Las Vegas/Henderson/Paradise area (Fun fact: Paradise refers to the famous Strip which is technically its own unincorporated town and not even a part of Vegas). That means that if you’re a Silver State resident looking for storage, the best place to look is Las Vegas. The city has been ranked as the third most popular U-Haul destination for two years in a row, which explains the fact that storage unit occupancy increased by 2.8% in 2015. Luckily, despite the influx of new Las Vegans, many of whom are renting storage units, there’s still plenty of space for everyone and it’s still affordable. Want to know why?

Las Vegas is Surprisingly Cheap

You probably have a friend or distant relative who likes to tell you about the time they visited Vegas and lost it all on the slots, the buffets, the expensive taxis and overpriced booze. As a resident of Sin City, unless you’re logging in serious time gambling and you’re really bad at said gambling, you’re able to enjoy a low cost of living. This extends to the prices of storage units. Places like 24-7 Automated Storage have units for as low as $35 a month. Think of your search for a storage unit in Las Vegas as you would your search for an apartment. Either way, it’s a renter’s market thanks to wide availability and competitive rates. If you’re curious, the average cost of a one bedroom apartment in Las Vegas is $830 a month. If you look around, you’ll find places for under $300, but we recommend you stay away from them unless having your car stolen doesn’t bother you. On the other end of the spectrum, you’ll be shocked at the luxury high rises you can live in for just over $1000 and the three bedroom houses you’ll be able to rent or buy. The same goes for storage: If you’re willing to spend a little, you can get a lot. If you’re okay with forking out a little extra, you can have everything.

Storage Safety in Sin City

That brings us to our next point. Ask any real estate agent in Vegas how to figure out what’s a safe area to rent an apartment in, and they’ll tell you to look at a crime map of the area. We recommend you do the same thing when it comes to your storage unit (or rent a unit that’s close to your apartment that way you only have to consider the safety of one area). Most people will tell you that areas like Summerlin and most of Spring Valley are safe while anything east of Downtown can be a bit iffy. Other people will tell you that because Downtown is gentrifying as a result of the Downtown Project, the neighborhood and the areas around it are becoming safer. Want the truth? Las Vegas is a patchwork of good and bad neighborhoods and you don’t have to drive far to find yourself in either, so rather than taking anyone else’s advice on where to rent a storage unit, do your own research by driving around the area and visiting the property in person. Ask your potential facility manager about what kind of security measures are in place. These should include things like gates that actually keep intruders out, key coded access and surveillance cameras.

24 Hour Access in the Real City that Never Sleeps

Vegas is a 24 hour town. That means you can go grocery shopping after midnight, eat a steak dinner well before breakfast and hang out at nightclub until 9 a.m. Las Vegans know that a storage unit is another thing that should be available to you 24 hours a day. This is especially important if you consider the fact that so many members of the city’s job force are in the service industry. If you can make a decent martini, it’s possible to make six figures a year. If you’re considering a job waiting tables, valeting cars or being the guy who tells people whether or not they look good enough to come into the nightclub, you absolutely have to have a storage unit that fits your nocturnal schedule. If working all night means you have to sleep all day, we don’t think you should have to sacrifice precious zzz’s just so you can grab something out of your storage unit.