Florida destinations dominated the U.S. growth cities list again in 2023, with the Palm Bay-Melbourne market netting the largest number of movers in one-way U-Haul® equipment last year.
The U-Haul Growth Index found seven Florida markets among the top 25 growth cities last year. It marks the seventh year in a row the Sunshine State has had the most cities represented. Florida had four markets among the top 25 in 2022, and a whopping 10 in 2021.
Ocala, the No. 1 growth city in 2022, backslides one spot in the latest rankings. The Sarasota-Bradenton market ranks fourth just behind Charleston-North Charleston (S.C.). Austin is the fifth-ranked growth city – the first of three top-10 Texas destinations along with the College Station-Bryan market and Dallas.
U-Haul calculates growth cities by each city’s net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box® moving container transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada. Neighboring cities in U-Haul markets are often packaged together for migration trends purposes.
In the Palm Bay-Melbourne market, 54.7% of all one-way U-Haul traffic was arriving compared to just 45.3% departing in 2023.
“Growth in the Palm Bay-Melbourne area has been increasing at an explosive rate,” stated Cal Conner, U-Haul Company of Eastern Florida president. “The Space Coast has many companies investing in this region and creating jobs such as Embraer®, SpaceX®, Northrop Grumman®, Lockheed Martin® and L3Harris Technologies®. We have a low cost of living compared to many of the northern cities people have left. Add to that our fantastic year-round climate, and you can see why Palm Bay-Melbourne is such a desirable area to live.”
Other notable markets to make the top 25 include Kissimmee-St. Cloud (Fla.), Charlotte (N.C.), Boise (Idaho), Knoxville (Tenn.) and Henderson (Nev.).
2023 U-Haul U.S. Growth Cities
| 1. | PALM BAY-MELBOURNE, FL (4) |
| 2. | OCALA, FL (1) |
| 3. | CHARLESTON-NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (10) |
| 4. | SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL |
| 5. | AUSTIN, TX |
| 6. | COLLEGE STATION-BRYAN, TX |
| 7. | CHARLOTTE, NC |
| 8. | HUNTSVILLE, AL (9) |
| 9. | DALLAS, TX |
| 10. | MYRTLE BEACH-NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (7) |
| 11. | KISSIMMEE-ST. CLOUD, FL |
| 12. | PANAMA CITY-PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL |
| 13. | NORTH PORT, FL (6) |
| 14. | BOISE, ID |
| 15. | WAKE FOREST, NC |
| 16. | CONROE, TX (19) |
| 17. | KNOXVILLE, TN |
| 18. | SURPRISE, AZ (8) |
| 19. | AUBURN-OPELIKA, AL (5) |
| 20. | LAKELAND, FL (21) |
| 21. | MURFREESBORO, TN |
| 22. | WILMINGTON, NC |
| 23. | QUEEN CREEK, AZ |
| 24. | HENDERSON, NV (17) |
| 25. | NAMPA, ID |
2022 growth rankings in parentheses
FIVE MORE notable cities that just missed the cut but posted strong net-gain numbers in 2023:
| Clarksville, TN |
| Asheville, NC |
| Madison, WI |
| Chattanooga, TN |
| Tucson, AZ |
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 attracting and maintaining residents. Find the 2023 U-Haul growth states release here: Texas and Florida Top Growth States in 2023.
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 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.
U-Haul continues to benefit the environment through its shared-use business model. Truck and trailer sharing enables communities to share moving equipment so that families and individuals don’t need to own large-capacity vehicles to transfer belongings. Sustainability initiatives like U-Haul Adaptive Reuse (the preserving and repurposing of existing buildings for new stores), truck modifications to improve fuel economy, and plastic Ready-To-Go Boxes® that are shared hundreds of times before being recycled are among the many ways U-Haul promotes green business. U-Box Load Share, the Company’s latest sustainability program, was just named the 2023 Best in Biz gold winner for the Most Environmentally Friendly Service of the Year.
