North Carolina rebounds 21 spots to become the No. 3 Growth State in America, according to U-Haul® data analyzing U.S. migration trends for 2019.
North Carolina has been among the leading growth states for several years, ranking No. 1 in 2015 and No. 7 in 2017 before backsliding to No. 24 a year ago.
Florida leapfrogs Texas as the top growth state for 2019, ending the Lone Star State’s three-year run atop the rankings for 2016-18. Florida rises one spot after being No. 2 for growth the previous three years.
South Carolina and Washington round out the top five U-Haul Growth States for 2019. Illinois and California lead the way in out-migration with the largest net losses of moving trucks crossing their borders.
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.
Migration Trends Data
North Carolina arrivals of one-way U-Haul trucks were up nearly 1% while departures were down more than 2% compared to the state’s 2018 numbers. Arrivals accounted for 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in North Carolina to make it the No. 3 state for netting do-it-yourself movers.
“North Carolina is seeing growth in businesses coming in, which attracts new residents,” stated Jason Grider, U-Haul Company of Central North Carolina president. “The housing market is booming. People are moving to the inner cities, as well as to the rural outskirts. With plenty of jobs to choose from, residents from every background are making North Carolina their home.
“We also have some of the best colleges, so graduates from all over end up moving here for good. U-Haul business is expanding here and you can really feel the growth when you look around.”
The Southeast accounts for four of the top six growth states with Alabama’s climb up the rankings, while Utah and Vermont maintained their status among the top 10. Illinois sits 50th for the fourth time in five years, outpacing No. 47 Massachusetts, No. 48 Michigan and No. 49 California for the most net departures.
Visit myuhaulstory.com to view the complete state rankings, as well as the top U-Haul U.S. Growth Cities (to be released Jan. 7) and Canadian Growth Cities (Jan. 8).
North Carolina in Growth Mode
The Raleigh-Durham corridor, Wilmington, Clayton, Boone and Hendersonville lead North Carolina’s gains. Chapel Hill, Apex, Mooresville, Cary and Winston-Salem are among other notable cities to see a net increase of U-Haul trucks.
Although U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the Company’s growth data is an effective gauge of how well cities and states 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 22,000 U-Haul truck- and trailer-sharing locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
