Incoming Trucks Account for 53.7 Percent of U-Haul Traffic in Aggieland
The official “Home of the 12th Man” is home to a lot of U-Haul do-it-yourself movers.
College Station made the U-Haul Top 10 U.S. Growth Cities for 2015 at No. 6. Growth rankings are determined by the net gain of incoming one-way U-Haul truck rentals versus outgoing rentals for the past calendar year. All cities in the U.S. are considered, regardless of size.
U-Haul locations in College Station saw 53.7 percent of truck rental customers coming into the city as opposed leaving, and welcomed 1 percent more U-Haul arrivals and departures year-over-year.
U-Haul has winning tips to make moving to College Station easier
Texas A&M University is the city’s largest employer and centerpiece of the Bryan-College Station metro area with an enrollment of nearly 60,000 students.
“A&M continues to grow, and College Station is seeing a lot of growth in apartment and retail buildings – retail on the first floors and housing above,” said Matt Merrill, president of U-Haul Company of West Houston. “The overall business market continues to grow for U-Haul there.”
$100 goes further in College Town as the national average. (source: taxfoundation.org)
The housing and jobs sectors have been on the upswing in College Station, according to multiple reports, adding appeal to the area at a time when other Texas cities have been hurt by the slumping oil sector.
Texas A&M’s 2012 move to the Southeastern Conference only helped College Station and the Aggies’ sports profile, which translated to a massive football stadium expansion project. And based on the U-Haul trucks pulling into town, there should be plenty of people to fill those seats.
“Obviously, A&M is a great university with the variety of academic programs offered there,” Merrill said. “I believe a lot of students who go there are attracted to Aggie football. Everything in College Station supports A&M. Our U-Haul store has maroon storage doors. Whataburger® has a maroon roof.
“The community is close-knit and the city is very well managed, very clean and very well kept. The crime rate is very low. It’s a very friendly place even though it continues to grow. Everybody comes in and says hello – and they’re darn sure not Yankees.”
While U-Haul migration trends don’t correlate directly to population or economic growth, the growth cities data is a strong gauge of how well cities are attracting and keeping residents. Continue following the U-Haul Top 10 U.S. Growth Cities countdown at myuhaulstory.com and via Twitter @uhaul.
More on College Station
- Did you know College Station is home to a beautiful presidential library?
The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum – that would be the dad, Bush 41 – showcases a number of permanent exhibits detailing the life of the former Texas congressman, from his days as a naval aviator during World War II to his time as CIA director, U.S. Vice President and U.S. President. - If there is a list of the top barbecue joints in Texas, Fargo’s Pit BBQ in College Station’s sister city of Bryan is certain to be near the top. Texas Monthly states “pitmaster Alan
Caldwell prefers to keep his exact smoking method a closely guarded
trade secret. Even the woodpile is hidden behind a cinder-block wall and a tarp-covered gate.” - U-Haul offers customers the convenience of two stores and three U-Haul neighborhood dealers in College Station, as well as an additional seven neighborhood dealers in the metro area. Find locations at uhaul.com.
Quotable
“In my 30-plus years in College Station, it’s grown tremendously. You can see the expansion and infrastructure in the roadways, housing and businesses. My store used to be on the edge of town. Now it’s in the center of town. Our storage used to be around 45 percent occupied this time of year. Now we’re about 80 percent occupied, and we go to 100 percent in May. Then everybody moves into the U-Box self-storage containers.” — Robert Reed, general manager of U-Haul Moving & Storage at Texas Avenue
View the full College Station infographic here!
Do you have any tips on moving to or living in here? Share with us in the comments below.
