Micro apartments are often half the price of traditional apartments, which is a huge perk in today’s economy. According to StorageCafe’s latest look at micro-housing availability across the United States, Western cities claim seven of the top 10 metros. San Francisco tops the list with 15% of its rental units being under 415 square feet and some as small as 124 square feet.
Like the Bay Area, Seattle, Honolulu, and Portland, Oregon, also rank high for micro-housing density, all with more than 10% of the local housing stock in each city being undersized units. Minneapolis; Oakland, California; Reno, Nevada; Chicago; Tucson, Arizona; and Philadelphia finish the top 10 cities that welcome small living.
“As rents continue to climb, micro apartments are emerging as a practical solution—especially for young professionals, solo renters, downsizing retirees, and budget-conscious city dwellers. These compact living spaces allow people to stay in the cities they love without stretching their budgets too thin. What’s fascinating is that micro-living isn’t just a coastal trend in places like San Francisco or New York anymore,” says Emilia Man, trends analyst at StorageCafe.
“Midsized cities like Minneapolis and Cleveland are embracing the movement, showing how residents across the country are adapting to the rising cost of urban living. It’s not just about shrinking your space—it’s about making smart, creative choices to keep housing affordable, while also fueling growth in related sectors like self-storage.”
Compared with 1.1% in the 2000s, micro units have made a comeback after declining in the early 2000s as roughly 2.4% of newly delivered units in the 2020s are under 441 square feet. Metros with high rent costs are developing micro apartments in abundance with more than half of all new rental developments being micro in Seattle (66%); Boston (56.2%); Newark, New Jersey (49.8%); and New York City (43.3%).
Undersized units are 40.5% of new construction in Reno, which is the fifth highest share in the country. In Minneapolis, micro units account for 10.4% of current rentals and are expected to double that, reaching 20% of new multifamily development.
However, the South and Mountain West are resisting the trend, StorageCafe says. Enterprise, Nevada’s smallest available rental is 735 square feet, or roughly six of Seattle’s tiniest units. Micro units are virtually nonexistent in southern metros like Fort Worth, Texas.
