Texas and Florida remained the preferred destinations of one-way U-Haul truck customers during 2022, ranking as the top growth states on the annual U-Haul Growth Index for the second consecutive year. Overall, the transactional data from U-Haul confirms that migration to the Southeast and Southwest—trends that were amplified and accelerated during the pandemic—continued through 2022. However, DIY moves slowed slightly in most states from record-breaking 2021 levels, according to U-Haul.
“The 2022 trends in migration followed very similar patterns to 2021 with Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, and the Southwest continuing to see solid growth,” says John Taylor, U-Haul International president. “We still have areas with strong demand for one-way rentals. While overall migration in 2021 was record-breaking, we continue to experience significant customer demand to move out of some geographic areas to destinations at the top of our growth list.”
The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled according to the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a state or city compared with trucks departing from that state or city in a calendar year. Migration data is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions that occur annually.
Texas ranked as the top growth state for the fifth time since 2016, and Florida, the No. 2 growth state, has been a top-three growth state for seven years in a row. South Carolina jumped one spot in the ranking to No. 3 in 2022 from the No. 4 spot in 2021. North Carolina and Virginia, the fourth- and fifth-ranked states, recorded large year-over-year jumps. North Carolina ranked 19th in 2021, while Virginia ranked 31st on the 2021 list.
Tennessee, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, and Idaho round out the top 10 growth states, according to U-Haul. Tennessee, Arizona, and Idaho were each top 10 growth states in 2021, while Georgia and Ohio were ranked 23rd and 24th, respectively, for that period.
Demand for equipment out of California, Illinois, and New York remained strong in 2022, as more people opted to leave areas of the West Coast, Northeast, and Midwest, according to U-Haul. California and Illinois ranked 50th and 49th, respectively, on the Growth Index for the third consecutive year. Michigan, Massachusetts, and New York rounded out the bottom five, representing the states with the greatest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.
In addition to Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, other states with large jumps on the 2022 list include Utah (up 16 spots to No. 12), Nevada (up 16 spots to No. 13), Missouri (up 24 spots to 15), Alabama (up 26 spots to No. 20), and Pennsylvania (up 24 spots to No. 24). Maine (down 21 spots to No. 29), Vermont (down 18 spots to No. 30), South Dakota (down 20 spots to No. 31), and Alaska (down 25 spots to No. 41) dropped the on the Growth Index list on a year-over-year basis.
