Virginia is the No. 5 growth state in America, according to the U-Haul® Growth Index analyzing customer moves during 2022.
People arriving in Virginia in one-way U-Haul trucks fell almost 8% over 2021, but departures dropped by more than 11%.
Due to fewer people leaving Virginia, it netted a larger percentage of arrivals to climb 26 spots from its No. 31 growth ranking in 2021. Do-it-yourself movers arriving in Virginia accounted for 50.5% of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in and out of Virginia (49.5% departures) to make it a top-10 growth state for the first time since 2015.
“Within the last six to eight months there has been steady migration into Virginia, particularly in the rural areas,” stated Clinton O’Neill, U-Haul Company of Richmond president. “I see a lot of people moving here from New York and other northern states. Virginia had fewer restrictions during the pandemic, and that appealed to a lot of people and businesses. There are a lot of new businesses opening.
“The ability for people to work from home has brought more residents to Virginia. In speaking with some of our customers, that’s one of the reasons they’ve moved here. People can be away from the hustle and bustle but still have access to the things they need. You can hike in the mountains or relax on the beach here. Everything you could want is accessible in just over an hour from central Virginia. There’s something for everyone.”
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.
Texas is the No. 1 growth state for the fifth time since 2016. Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina round out the top five growth states. 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.
Virginia’s top growth market is Henrico. Other notable net-gain cities include Charlottsville, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Alexandria, Blacksburg, Suffolk, Hampton, Midlothian, Martinsville, Winchester, Harrisonburg, Danville, Chantilly and Springfield.
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.
