Arizona is the No. 5 growth state in America for the second year in a row, according to 2021 transactional data compiled for the annual U-Haul® Growth Index.
People coming to Arizona in one-way U-Haul trucks rose more than 6% year-over-year, while departures increased just 4% from 2020.
Arriving customers accounted for 50.4% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Arizona during 2021 to keep it a top-five state for netting do-it-yourself movers. The last two years, Arizona has been the favorite destination of U-Haul customers among all states west of Texas.
U-Haul International has been headquartered in Midtown Phoenix since 1967 and employees more than 3,500 Arizonans.
Growth states are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from well over 2 million one-way U-Haul truck customer transactions that occur annually.
Local U-Haul Analysis
“Arizona has been seeing steady growth for a number of years,” said Jesse Ashdown, U-Haul Company of Northwest Phoenix president. “People are able to sell their homes in California, and buy all cash here. The homes are bigger and there’s more available land. Arizona is also known for its great weather and mild winters, stunning landscapes, abundance of jobs and a decent cost of living. We have really become a magnet for people.”
U-Haul customers made Texas the No. 1 growth state of 2021, followed by Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina. It is the second year in a row that the same three states comprised the top three, with Tennessee taking top honors in 2020. Texas is the leading growth state for the fourth time in the last six years, and has never been lower than No. 2 in that span.
California ranks 50th and Illinois 49th for the second consecutive year, indicating those states saw the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.
Arizona Growth Cities
Arizona’s top growth cities include Surprise, Tucson, Glendale, Casa Grande, Goodyear and Queen Creek.
Other notable net-gain cities are Buckeye, Litchfield Park, Wickenburg, Marana, Chandler, Avondale, Anthem, Gilbert and the Pinetop-Lakeside market.
While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states are both attracting and maintaining residents.
U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 provinces. The geographical coverage from more than 23,000 U-Haul truck- and trailer-sharing locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
Independent small business owners interested in joining the U-Haul Dealer Network at no cost and earning commissions from rental transactions at their locations can visit uhaul.com/dealer to learn more and submit an information form.
