SOUTH CAROLINA: U-Haul No. 4 Growth State for 2017

South Carolina was the No. 4 Growth State for 2017, according to U-Haul data analyzing the past year’s U.S. migration trends.

Year-over-year arrivals of one-way U-Haul truck rentals jumped 10 percent while departures rose 8 percent from South Carolina’s 2016 numbers.

Arriving trucks accounted for 50.5 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in South Carolina to catapult its ranking 18 spots in one year. South Carolina held the No. 22 growth ranking for 2016 and was No. 17 for 2015.

Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering a state versus leaving a state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually.

Texas was the No. 1 Growth State for the second year in a row. Florida and Arkansas landed just in front of South Carolina. Tennessee was fifth and North Carolina seventh, continuing a strong growth movement in the Southeast. California overtook Illinois on the list as the biggest net-loss state.

While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents.

Myrtle Beach, Mount Pleasant, Charleston and Columbia paced South Carolina’s net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks. Florence, Greenville, Anderson and Summerville were among other notable cities to post strong net gains. Find U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers in South Carolina at uhaul.com/locations.

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.

What They’re Saying about South Carolina

“Our coastal communities are expanding and we’re seeing huge retirement populations moving in. There are significant amounts of people moving from Canada to escape the cold and have an affordable beach home. Tax rates and gas prices are low. Many people move over the (state) border because North Carolina is more expensive. Several South Carolina cities have become commuter cities. Myrtle Beach has also grown significantly and has its own metropolitan area. It looks more like a regular community than a beach town.” — Matt McCoy, U-Haul Company of Southern Atlantic Coast president

U-Haul Growth State Rankings for 2017

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Arkansas
4. South Carolina
5. Tennessee
6. Washington
7. North Carolina
8. Connecticut
9. Colorado
10. Vermont
11. Alabama
12. Iowa
13. Virginia
14. Idaho
15. West Virginia
16. Nebraska
17. Indiana
18. Delaware
19. New Mexico
20. Wisconsin
21. Utah
22. Wyoming
23. Mississippi
24. Oklahoma
25. Montana
26. Maine
27. South Dakota
28. Washington D.C.
29. Kentucky
30. Missouri
31. New Hampshire
32. Oregon
33. Nevada
34. Ohio
35. Minnesota
36. Alaska
37. North Dakota
38. Kansas
39. Rhode Island
40. Louisiana
41. Georgia
42. Maryland
43. Arizona
44. New York
45. New Jersey
46. Massachusetts
47. Michigan
48. Pennsylvania
49. Illinois
50. California

* Washington, D.C. is its own U-Haul territory and is listed among states for migration purposes. Hawaii is not included since state-to-state truck rentals are not applicable.