South Carolina is the No. 4 growth state in America, according to 2021 transactional data compiled for the annual U-Haul® Growth Index.
People coming to South Carolina in one-way U-Haul trucks rose more than 22% year-over-year, while departures increased about 20% from 2020 as overall moving traffic surged.
Arriving customers accounted for 50.5% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in South Carolina during 2021 to make it a leading state for netting do-it-yourself movers. South Carolina ranked 15th among growth states in 2020, but was third in 2019 and fourth in 2018, establishing its mark as a flourishing destination.
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
“South Carolina’s coastal communities are expanding as we see huge numbers of retirees moving in,” said Matt McCoy, U-Haul Company of Southern Atlantic Coast president. “We also see people from the northern U.S. and Canada who are looking to escape the cold and are searching for an affordable beach home. Cost of living is still reasonable here, and with many opportunities to work from home, people are able to really choose where they want to live.”
U-Haul customers made Texas, Florida and Tennessee the top three growth states, with Arizona rounding out the top five. It is the second year in a row that the same three states comprised the top three, with Tennessee taking top growth honors in 2020.
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.
South Carolina Growth Cities
South Carolina’s top growth cities include Myrtle Beach, Greenville, the North Myrtle Beach-Little River market, the Charleston-North Charleston market, Spartanburg and Bluffton.
Other notable net-gain cities are Aiken, Indian Land, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and Sumter.
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.
