What are the 20ft storage container dimensions?
ISO 668 fixes these numbers, so a 20ft box from any yard measures the same.
| Measurement | Standard 20ft |
|---|---|
| External | 20 by 8 by 8 feet 6 inches |
| Internal length | About 19 feet 4 inches |
| Internal width | About 7 feet 8 inches |
| Internal height | About 7 feet 10 inches |
| Door opening | 7 feet 8 inches wide by 7 feet 5 inches high |
| Floor area | About 146 square feet |
| Capacity | 1,169 cubic feet |
The door opening decides most jobs, not the volume. A 7 foot 5 inch clear height takes a walk behind scissor lift and a pallet stack four high. It does not take a standard mini excavator with the cab up, which people find out on delivery day.
How much does a 20ft storage container weigh?
Empty, 4,850 to 5,100 pounds depending on steel gauge and build. That's the tare weight stamped on the door.
Loaded is the number that matters for placement. Fill it with tools, material and a couple of pallets and a 20ft storage container can pass 30,000 pounds, and all of that lands on four corner castings rather than spreading across the floor. Asphalt in a July heatwave gives under that. Timber cribbing under the castings costs almost nothing and solves it. Section 385 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law sets the weight and dimension limits the delivery truck has to work inside.
What fits inside a 20ft container
Roughly the contents of a two bedroom apartment, or a full trade fit-out kit with room to walk in.
- A complete carpentry or electrical kit for a 40 person crew, on racking down one wall
- The contents of a brownstone gut: appliances, fixtures, salvaged trim, doors
- 300 to 400 square feet of stacked tile, board and underlayment on pallets
- Retail stock overflow during a fit-out
- Event kit staged for a build at Randalls Island or Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Long material is where the 20ft stops working. Scaffold plank, curtain wall units and full length ductwork want the 40ft storage container, which is the same 8 foot width with twice the length.
Delivery clearance on a New York block
A tilt bed truck sets the box down by raising the bed and rolling it off, which needs roughly 60 feet of straight clearance and around 14 to 15 feet of overhead room while the bed is up.
That overhead figure is what kills placements here. A sidewalk shed, a scaffold, a fire escape or a mature street tree on a Brooklyn side street all sit inside it. Commercial vehicles are banned from the FDR Drive, the Belt Parkway and the Henry Hudson Parkway too, so the truck runs the NYC DOT truck route network and that adds mileage in parts of Queens and the Bronx. Send a photo of the approach before you book a date.
20ft storage container price in the five boroughs
Published market data puts a 20ft storage container rental at $100 to $250 a month, with around $125 typical, and a 20 foot storage container rental sits toward the lower half of that band. Prices reviewed July 2026, and these are market ranges rather than a quote.
What moves the number: borough and distance from the yard, whether the placement needs a Department of Transportation permit and a delivery window, term length, and whether the site needs cribbing or a night delivery. The storage container rental cost page breaks out delivery, relocation and pickup separately, and the storage container rental overview covers every size we run.
Cold storage and office conversions
A 20ft cold storage container is a refrigerated unit with its own compressor, and it needs continuous power, which on a New York jobsite means a temporary power pole or a generator sized for the load. Catering and pharmaceutical work is where those come up, not construction.
The other conversion people ask about is a 20ft mobile office container with trailer, meaning a box split into storage at one end and a small office at the other. For a site team that needs desks, heat and a bathroom, a purpose built mobile office trailer is the better answer and it arrives ready to work.
Do you need a permit for a 20ft container in NYC?
On a New York City street or sidewalk, yes. The permit comes from the Department of Transportation through its Bureau of Permit Management and Construction Control at 55 Water Street, borough offices approve it, and turnaround runs from about a day to several weeks depending on the borough and the type of work. 311 is the fastest route to an answer for one address.
Inside a construction fence or on private property, none of that applies. New York City Building Code Chapter 33 governs the site perimeter and an 8 foot fence along a public way is the standard requirement, which is why temporary fence rental usually goes in first. The 2010 ADA Standards also require a 36 inch minimum clear pedestrian route in section 403.5.1, and the placement guide covers what the driver checks on arrival.
Questions people ask about 20ft containers
Is a 20 ft storage container rental cheaper than two 10ft boxes? Usually, because one delivery beats two. Two smaller boxes win only when the placements sit in different parts of the site.
Can it go on a driveway? Yes, on cribbing. Most Queens and Staten Island driveways take one comfortably.
How long is the minimum term? A month. The delivery run costs more than the box on anything shorter, and we'd rather say that than dress it up as a special rate.
Can I get a container and restrooms on one order? Yes, and most sites do. See porta potty rental in New York City, what it costs, construction site services for the full package, and a roll-off dumpster for the debris side. Handwashing station rental covers the sinks the crew will need.
Do you deliver outside the five boroughs? Yes, including Jersey City, Newark and Hempstead. The service areas page lists everywhere.
Send the address and the term through the quote form, or call the number on the contact page. The FAQ covers the rest, the about page explains how we work, and everything we run is on the home page.
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