METHODOLOGY

How we source and verify 5×5 prices.

Operator data, not aggregator listings.

Every metro price on this site comes from Public Storage's own city pages, fetched live on 2026-06-03. We chose Public Storage as the primary source because it publishes both an online rate and a standard rolling rate on most listings — that lets us separate $1-first-month promos from what you actually pay from month two.

Promo stripping.

Memorial Day Sale, half-off-four-months, $1-first-month: these inflate the headline lows and disappear by month two. Wherever a listing shows both rates, we use the standard rolling rate as the published figure. Where only an online-only rate appears, we mark it with a promoFlag in the per-metro source row.

Low-confidence flags.

Some metros (San Antonio, Seattle) surface only one or two 5×5 facilities in the Public Storage search — too thin a sample to call definitive. Those are labelled “low-conf” in the rate table. Indianapolis returned zero true 5×5 inventory (smallest sizes were 4×6 and 5×6); we omit it rather than substitute fabricated data.

National benchmark.

The $45/mo national figure is a triangulated estimate, not a Yardi-published 5×5-specific number. Yardi Matrix publishes a per-sqft weighted combined rate ($16.22/yr per sqft = $1.35/sqft/mo, April 2026); on a 25-sqft base that equals $33.79/mo, but small units carry a per-sqft premium so the realistic 5×5 figure sits at $40-$50 nationally. SpareFoot guidance puts 5×5 at $35-$60/mo. We label this triangulation clearly so it isn't mistaken for an authoritative single-source figure.

What-fits guidance.

The floorplan inventory comes from operator-published size guides (Public Storage, CubeSmart) and Storage Scholars (college-focused). Public Storage's official guidance for a 5×5 is roughly 5-8 boxes plus “small furniture”. Storage Scholars, focused on tightly-packed dorm storage, puts it at 15-25 medium boxes when stacked and excluding furniture.

Re-verification.

Public Storage city pages are re-fetched every 60 days. The pre-deploy gate blocks publication of any change containing a stale dated row.

Conflicts of interest.

5x5storage.com has no affiliate revenue. No SpareFoot referral codes. No Public Storage affiliate links. No vendor sponsorships, no paid placement. Digital Signet owns and funds the site.