Texas continues to be the No. 1 Growth State in America, according to U-Haul® data analyzing U.S. migration trends for 2018.
Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck sharing transactions that occur annually.
Texas arrivals of one-way U-Haul trucks were up 5 percent while departures were up 6 percent compared to the state’s 2017 numbers. Despite a larger year-over-year increase in departures, arrivals still accounted for 50.2 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Texas to make it the top state for netting do-it-yourself movers.
This marks the third year in a row Texas ranks as the U-Haul No. 1 Growth State after rebounding from the No. 39 spot back in 2015. Florida, South Carolina, Utah and Idaho round out the top five states for growth in 2018.
Illinois ranks 50th for the third time in four years with the most net departures of U-Haul trucks, outpacing No. 48 California and No. 49 Michigan among out-migration states.
Visit myuhaulstory.com to view the complete state rankings, as well as the top U-Haul U.S. Growth Cities (to be released Jan. 3) and Canadian Growth Cities (Jan. 4) for 2018.
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.
Migration Trends in Texas
Spring, McKinney, Katy, Kaufman, Pflugerville, Round Rock and New Braunfels pace Texas’s net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks. Pharr, Brownsville, El Paso, Lubbock, Irving and Arlington are among other notable cities with net gains. Find U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers in Texas 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 truck and trailer sharing locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
