Shipping Containers for Sale in Houston, TX
Houston-area prices for a used container start at $990 for a 20ft and $1,320 for a 40ft, and a new one-trip 20ft starts at $1,740, before delivery and tax. They come from 3 depots around the city, one of them in Channelview on the east side, with delivery near that depot from about $325.
Going by the sellers whose prices we track, most containers arrive 3–7 business days after you accept a quote; when and how you pay is up to each seller, so check its quote.
Enter your ZIP code to check that we cover your address. Up to 5 sellers serving it send you their delivered prices after you send your request.
Houston prices
Each “from” price is set 15% below the average of the cheaper half of what the 3 Houston-area depots in our network list for that model and grade, container only, or 15% below our national starting price when that’s lower, and is checked monthly. The price you pay, with delivery and sales tax, is the one in the quote you accept from a seller serving the Houston area.
| Container | Houston, from | National | Depots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft, used, WWT | $990 | $1,400 | 3 |
| 20ft, used, CW | $1,060 | $1,550 | 3 |
| 20ft, new | $1,740 | $2,750 | 2 |
| 20ft high cube, new | $2,810 | $4,620 | 2 |
| 20ft double door, new | $2,890 | $4,100 | 1 |
| 20ft open side, new | $4,760 | $6,750 | 1 |
| 40ft, used, WWT | $1,320 | $1,900 | 3 |
| 40ft, used, CW | $1,450 | $2,060 | 3 |
| 40ft, new | $3,830 | $5,350 | 1 |
| 40ft high cube, used, WWT | $1,470 | $1,980 | 3 |
| 40ft high cube, used, CW | $1,570 | $2,130 | 3 |
| 40ft high cube, new | $2,850 | $3,900 | 2 |
| 40ft high cube double door, new | $3,910 | $4,800 | 1 |
WWT: wind and watertight; CW: cargo worthy; new containers are one-trip. Depots: how many of the Houston-area depots in our network listed that model and grade at the last price check. The 10ft, reefers, offices and modified units weren’t listed at these depots at the last price check, and the 40ft high cube open side can’t be matched to one of our two versions, so all of them keep their national starting price: all shipping containers.
Every Houston “from” price is below our national starting price, by $410 to $1,990.
To get quotes, open the model page and choose “Get the best price”: up to 5 sellers serving the Houston area send you their delivered prices. How we set the prices on this page: price method.
Where Houston containers come from
3 verified sellers in our network have depots in the Houston area stocking shipping and storage containers (conex boxes); one is in Channelview, east of downtown. When you send a request, up to 5 sellers serving the Houston area get it, all checked for licensing and insurance, and each one that has your model and grade prices it delivered to your address. You don’t pick the box up: it’s trucked to your site, and you look it over there, under the terms of the quote you accept.
Need a container for a few months rather than for good? Rentals are quoted by ZIP: container rental.
Delivery around Houston
Close to the Channelview depot, the delivery fee starts around $325, the same for a 20ft and a 40ft; farther out it rises with distance.
Delivery figures here are estimates from rates depots publish, about $4–$6 a mile by tilt-bed past the depot area; the fee in the quote you accept is the one you pay. What the truck needs on your lot: site checklist.
Requests from across the metro, including Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Pasadena, Baytown, League City, The Woodlands, Conroe and Galveston, go to sellers serving the address, with the fee rising with distance. North of here, our Dallas–Fort Worth depot page covers the Metroplex, and west along I-10 the San Antonio page covers Bexar County.
Local rules in Houston and Harris County
City of Houston. Houston is not zoned, so no zoning district rules out a storage container on your lot. What can is a recorded deed restriction, and the City helps enforce those; most residents get a copy from the Harris County Clerk. Whether your container also needs a building permit is a question for the Houston Permitting Center, worth asking before delivery if you plan to cut it, wire it or use it as a room.
Unincorporated Harris County. The county requires a permit for all development outside city limits, and defines development as any man-made change to real estate, storage of equipment or materials included. Ask its permit office whether your container counts before it arrives. Other cities in the metro, such as Pasadena, Katy or Sugar Land, set their own rules.
Flood and storm. See whether your spot sits in a mapped floodplain on the Harris County Flood Control District’s Flood Education Mapping Tool; the official flood map is FEMA’s, at msc.fema.gov. Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, and a container on timbers or blocks is held down only by its weight: for a long stay, anchor all four corners. More on HOAs and setbacks in our permit guide.
Sales tax in Houston
Inside Houston city limits, sales tax is 8.25%: the 6.25% Texas rate plus 1% for the city and 1% for METRO or another local district, per the Texas Comptroller’s October 2026 rates. Texas caps local sales tax at 2%, so no address in the metro pays more than 8.25%.
Ask each seller to show the sales tax for your delivery address in its quote.
Browse containers Get a quote for several containers
Frequently asked questions
How much is a 20 ft shipping container in Houston?
In the Houston area, a used wind and watertight 20ft starts at $990; cargo worthy starts at $1,060, a new one-trip at $1,740 and a new 20ft high cube at $2,810, each with delivery and tax to add.
How much is a 40 ft shipping container in Houston?
Used, from $1,320 in wind and watertight grade, or from $1,470 for a high cube. Among new 40ft units, the high cube is the cheaper one here: from $2,850, while a standard-height one starts at $3,830. None of these includes delivery or tax.
How much would 12 shipping containers cost?
At the Houston “from” prices on this page, twelve used 20ft wind and watertight containers start at $11,880 and twelve used 40ft at $15,840, delivery and sales tax not included. For several containers, send a quote request, and sellers price the containers and their deliveries together.
Will the City of Houston or Harris County want a permit for my container?
Inside the city there’s no zoning to clear, but your deed restrictions still apply, and the Houston Permitting Center can tell you whether a building permit is needed. In unincorporated Harris County, the county requires a permit for any development, which its rules define broadly. Local rules.
Sources
Prices: public listings at the 3 Houston-area depots of sellers in our network, recorded October 21, 2026; delivery fee near the Channelview depot from the same day’s published rates.
Zoning and deed restrictions: City of Houston Legal Department, Deed Restrictions FAQ. County permits: Harris County Office of the County Engineer, Permits FAQ. Sales tax: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Sales and Use Tax, and Texas Sales and Use Tax Rates, October 2026. Hurricane season: NOAA National Hurricane Center. Floodplain map: Harris County Flood Control District. All read October 23, 2026.