Madison, Wis., heads the list of 2016 U.S. Growth Cities as U-Haul rolls out its 2016 migration trends reports.
Madison is the No. 1 growth city for locations with a population more than 50,000. It rises three spots from its 2015 ranking, besting Austin and Boise for top growth honors.
U-Haul Growth Cities are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck arrivals over departures for a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually.
U-Haul is revealing its 2016 Growth States as part of a two-week Top 10 countdown on Twitter @uhaul and myuhaulstory.com. The top growth state and complete rankings will be posted on Feb. 3
Arkansas kicks off the countdown as the No. 10 growth state.
While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well cities are attracting and maintaining residents.
U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The geographical coverage from more than 21,000 U-Haul locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry. Find a U-Haul rental facility near you at uhaul.com/locations.
“U-Haul migration trends data is among the most sought after in the industry because it is the most comprehensive, dotting the map in more places with more equipment and reaching more customers than anyone else,” U-Haul Executive Vice President Stuart Shoen said.
Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, the U-Haul No. 1 U.S. Growth City of 2016. – Courtesy of visitmadison.com
Joining Madison atop their respective growth city lists are Granbury, Texas (population 10,000 to 50,000) and Tilton, N.H. (population fewer than 10,000).
Arrivals accounted for 53 percent of one-way U-Haul traffic in Madison in 2016. Year-over-year arrivals increased 1 percent as departures dropped 2 percent. In Granbury and Tilton, arrivals totaled more than 58 percent of U-Haul traffic. Each city welcomed a year-over-year spike in arrivals of more than 30 percent.
U-Haul 2016 U.S. Growth Cities
| Population more than 50,000 | Population 10,000 to 50,000 | Population fewer than 10,000 |
| 1. Madison, Wis. | 1. Granbury, Texas | 1. Tilton, N.H. |
| 2. Austin, Texas | 2. Tualatin, Ore. | 2. White River Junction, Vt. |
| 3. Boise, Idaho | 3. Longview, Wash. | 3. Minneola, Fla. |
| 4. San Francisco, Calif. | 4. Porter, Texas | 4. Center Conway, N.H. |
| 5. Manhattan, N.Y. | 5. Opelika, Ala. | 5. Dardenne Prairie, Mo. |
| 6. Redding, Calif. | 6. Kaufman, Texas | 6. Anthem, Ariz. |
| 7. Concord, Calif. | 7. Oxford, Miss. | 7. Mount Pocono, Pa. |
| 8. Olympia, Wash. | 8. Cleveland Heights, Ohio | 8. Bunnell, Fla. |
| 9. St. Paul, Minn. | 9. Prosper, Texas | 9. Centerton, Ark. |
| 10. Kissimmee, Fla. | 10. Haines City, Fla. | 10. Oak Island, N.C. |
| 11. Murrieta, Calif. | 11. Coeur D’Alene, Idaho | 11. Hadley, Mass. |
| 12. Atlanta, Ga. | 12. Greenville, Texas | 12. Whitsett, N.C. |
| 13. Tacoma, Wash. | 13. Brentwood, Tenn. | 13. Angels Camp, Calif. |
| 14. Brandon, Fla. | 14. Auburn, Maine | 14. Bandera, Texas |
| 15. Chapel Hill, N.C. | 15. Boerne, Texas | 15. Lake Placid, N.Y. |
| 16. Roseville, Calif. | 16. Rutland, Vt. | 16. Swansea, Ill. |
| 17. Miami, Fla. | 17. Gettysburg, Pa. | 17. Romney, W.Va. |
| 18. Melbourne, Fla. | 18. Carbondale, Ill. | 18. Flippin, Ark. |
| 19. McKinney, Texas | 19. Blue Ridge, Ga. | 19. Ash Flat, Ark. |
| 20. Temecula, Calif. | 20. Ocoee, Fla. | 20. Apple Valley, Minn. |
| 21. St. George, Utah | 21. Spokane Valley, Wash. | 21. West Seneca, N.Y. |
| 22. Vallejo, Calif. | 22. Central, S.C. | 22. Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. |
| 23. Jersey City, N.J. | 23. Takoma Park, Md. | 23. Brooklyn, Conn. |
| 24. Lubbock, Texas | 24. Hot Springs Village, Ark. | 24. Comanche, Texas |
| 25. Reno, Nevada | 25. Keene, N.H. | 25. Chamblee, Ga. |
What They are Saying
“There’s an apartment or condo complex going up every other week (in Madison). Downtown housing is a hot trend. The university and campus are growing. There is definitely growth in the outlying areas as well, but Madison is landlocked with the four lakes, so everybody seems to be jammed in about 10 square miles. Madison is a great place to live. There are activities every week, concerts every weekend. If you are bored in this town, it’s because you don’t have a life, more or less.” — Adam Sonnleitner, U-Haul Company of Southwestern Wisconsin and Rockford president
Be sure to follow the growth state countdown in the following days here on myuhaulstory.com!
