The self storage industry generates more than $22 billion in annual revenue. Considered by Wall Street Analysts to be "recession resistant", the industry has been one of the fastest growing sectors of commercial real estate over the period of the last 35 years. There are approximately 48,500 self storage facilities with a combined total of 2.3 billion square feet, or more than 78 square miles of rentable space. To put that into terms that are easy to visualize, imagine Manhattan Island, New York, and then multiply it by 3. There is a total of U.S. self storage space capacity of about 21 square feet per American household.