Texas is the No. 2 growth state in America, according to U-Haul® data analyzing migration patterns from 2020.
Tennessee edges Texas, the leading growth state from 2016-18, and Florida, the No. 1 growth state for 2019, for top honors on the new U-Haul chart. Texas has been a top-two growth state each of the past five years.
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.
Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia round out the top 10 growth states, creating a 2020 stronghold for the Southeast and Southwest regions in attracting do-it-yourself movers.
California slides one position to 50th as the state with the steepest out-migration – or the largest net loss of U-Haul trucks crossing its border. New York ranks 42nd. Illinois is 49th.
Texas Growth Data
People coming to Texas in one-way U-Haul trucks increased 9% during the past year, while departures rose 10% from 2019. Despite the larger rise in departures, arrivals still accounted for 50.2% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Texas during 2020 to make it the No. 2 state for netting DIY movers.
Texas’s leading growth cities include Tyler, Conroe, Longview, Richardson, Kingwood, College Station, the Round Rock/Pflugerville corridor, and Arlington. Other notable net-gain cities are San Marcos, Pharr, New Braunfels, the Spring/The Woodlands corridor, Cypress, Katy, Abilene and McKinney.
While 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 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. Find local U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers at uhaul.com/locations.
As an essential service provider, U-Haul has remained open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak while offering contactless programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people’s homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and countless other dependent groups, in addition to the household mover. Visit uhaul.com/announcement for more information on how U-Haul keeps its customers and Team Members safe.
What They’re Saying About Texas
“Texas is a beast in terms of population growth. Tons of new residents are moving here from the West Coast. I talk to customers every day from California, Oregon and Washington. They want a change in scenery, but they want to maintain their lifestyles. COVID-19 has been a struggle, but it doesn’t seem to slow people from moving into Texas.” — Sean McMullen, U-Haul Company of South Austin president
“Texas is a wonderful state full of diverse cultures and inviting people. We have a little bit of everything, from big cities to wide-open country. I’m not surprised Texas continues to rank high on our growth state list. As a seventh generation Texan, I completely understand why other people would want to live here. In the past nine years that I’ve been a marketing company president, I’ve seen the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, specifically, grow with many U-Haul centers, local small businesses joining our neighborhood dealer program, and the hiring of new Team Members. The growth I see here is something I’ve never seen in my 40 years in this area.” — Kevin Harless, U-Haul Company of East Dallas president
