Washington improves 24 spots to become the No. 5 Growth State in America, according to U-Haul® data analyzing U.S. migration trends for 2019.
Washington climbed as high as No. 6 in the rankings on two occasions since 2015, but had slipped to 29th for growth in 2018.
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. North Carolina jumps 21 spots to third on the list, and South Carolina slides in front of Washington to round out the top five.
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
Washington arrivals of one-way U-Haul trucks were up nearly 6% while departures were up 4% compared to the state’s 2018 numbers. Arrivals accounted for 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Washington to make it the No. 5 state for netting do-it-yourself movers.
“Places like Seattle, Vancouver and Spokane really put Washington on the map,” said Dan Flatten, U-Haul Company of Southern Washington president. “But in recent years, people are running out of places to live and are starting to look farther out to places like Longview and Olympia. People have to get outside city centers and commute for work because the bigger cities are becoming so densely populated.
“The great thing about Washington is that you can be close to a big city and high-paying jobs without sacrificing the affordability and small-town feel of the suburbs.”
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).
Washington in Growth Mode
Tacoma, Spokane, Federal Way and Shoreline lead Washington’s gains. Bellingham, Kent, Longview and Puyallup 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.
