Texas is the No. 1 growth state in America for the second consecutive year and the fifth time since 2016, according to the U-Haul® Growth Index analyzing customer moves during 2022.
People arriving in Texas in one-way U-Haul trucks increased more than 1% from 2021, while departures also rose about 1%. Overall moving traffic slowed throughout most of the U.S. but remained busy in the Lone Star State in 2022.
Do-it-yourself movers arriving in Texas accounted for nearly 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in and out of Texas (49.7% departures) to keep it the leading growth state.
“People are still flocking to Texas,” stated Zane Rowland, U-Haul Company of Northeast Dallas president. “The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is attracting new companies every day. Businesses are relocating to DFW and Texas because we’re a cost-effective option.”
“Texas is great because you have a low the cost of living, no state income tax, and deregulated energy costs,” added Robert Abidin, U-Haul Company of Northeast Houston president. “Texas is also the energy capital of the U.S. We’re home to every major industry. Anything you’re looking for in Texas, you can find in Texas.”
The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled according to the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a city or state, versus departing from that city or state, in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.
Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia round out the top five growth states for 2022. California ranks 50th and Illinois 49th for the third year in a row, indicating those states saw the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.
Texas was also the No. 1 growth state from 2016-2018 and again in 2021. It ranked second to Florida in 2019 and second to Tennessee in 2020.
Texas’s leading growth cities include Missouri City, Richardson and Conroe. Other notable net-gain markets include Roanoke, Porter, Pharr, College Station-Bryan, Cypress, Mesquite, Katy, Magnolia, Huntsville, Longview, Prosper, North Richland Hills, Baytown and Kingwood.
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 and cities are both attracting and maintaining residents. Visit myuhaulstory.com to view the additional growth state releases and national releases from the U-Haul Growth Index.
2022 U-Haul Growth States
| 1. | TEXAS (1) |
| 2. | FLORIDA (2) |
| 3. | SOUTH CAROLINA (4) |
| 4. | NORTH CAROLINA (19) |
| 5. | VIRGINIA (31) |
| 6. | TENNESSEE (3) |
| 7. | ARIZONA (5) |
| 8. | GEORGIA (23) |
| 9. | OHIO (24) |
| 10. | IDAHO (9) |
| 11. | COLORADO (7) |
| 12. | UTAH (28) |
| 13. | NEVADA (29) |
| 14. | INDIANA (6) |
| 15. | MISSOURI (39) |
| 16. | WISCONSIN (13) |
| 17. | MINNESOTA (17) |
| 18. | MONTANA (22) |
| 19. | NEW MEXICO (10) |
| 20. | ALABAMA (46) |
| 21. | IOWA (27) |
| 22. | OREGON (14) |
| 23. | WASHINGTON (15) |
| 24. | PENNSYLVANIA (48) |
| 25. | WEST VIRGINIA (26) |
| 26. | KENTUCKY (38) |
| 27. | DELAWARE (30) |
| 28. | CONNECTICUT (18) |
| 29. | MAINE (8) |
| 30. | VERMONT (12) |
| 31. | SOUTH DAKOTA (11) |
| 32. | NEBRASKA (20) |
| 33. | WYOMING (21) |
| 34. | MISSISSIPPI (37) |
| 35. | LOUISIANA (43) |
| 36. | WASHINGTON D.C.* (35) |
| 37. | NORTH DAKOTA (33) |
| 38. | NEW HAMPSHIRE (25) |
| 39. | KANSAS (40) |
| 40. | RHODE ISLAND (32) |
| 41. | ALASKA (16) |
| 42. | OKLAHOMA (44) |
| 43. | ARKANSAS (41) |
| 44. | MARYLAND (34) |
| 45. | NEW JERSEY (36) |
| 46. | NEW YORK (45) |
| 47. | MASSACHUSETTS (47) |
| 48. | MICHIGAN (42) |
| 49. | ILLINOIS (49) |
| 50. | CALIFORNIA (50) |
2021 growth rankings in parentheses
* Washington, D.C. is its own U-Haul market and is listed among growth states for migration trends purposes. Hawaii is omitted since state-to-state U-Haul truck moves do not occur.
U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 10 provinces and 50 states. The geographical coverage from 23,000 U-Haul truck- and trailer-sharing locations provides a broad overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
Small business owners who are interested in joining the U-Haul Dealer Network at no cost and earning commissions from U-Haul rental transactions can visit uhaul.com/dealer to learn more and submit information to be contacted by a local representative.
