US mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people

America has been filling storage units and phone plans at nearly identical rates for eighteen years, suggesting either that people store their old phones in units, or that every new phone subscription generates precisely 0.0003 new storage facilities through a mechanism physics has yet to describe. The US now has more self-storage space per person than any nation on earth, and also more phone subscriptions per 100 people than most. This is either a remarkable coincidence or a very on-brand way to be American.

Both self-storage and mobile phone penetration are indicators of rising disposable income and suburban consumer culture. Self-storage facilities grew steadily from around 46,000 to over 50,000 US locations between 2005 and 2022 as housing downsized while possessions multiplied. Mobile subscriptions climbed toward and past 100 per 100 people as feature phones gave way to smartphones and multi-device households became standard. Both curves reflect the same rising tide of consumer spending and the accumulation of physical and digital goods.

A society that keeps buying things it cannot fit in its home will also keep buying devices it cannot live without. Growth metrics for storage and connectivity are, at bottom, both just measuring the same appetite.