Methods and systems for use in a storage network to prioritize storage units for data storage operations. In various examples, a device obtains data storage cost information relating to the storage network and resource utilization information for a plurality of storage unit sets. The device also determines pending resource demand information for storage units of each of the plurality of storage unit sets. The device further groups, based on at least one of the resource utilization information or the data storage cost information, the storage units into an underutilized resource group and an over utilized resource group and selects, based on at least one of the resource utilization information or the pending resource demand information, a storage unit set of the plurality of storage unit sets for storing new data. The device further issues high priority write access information to storage units of the selected storage unit set.