U-Haul U.S. Growth Cities: Tempe Tops List for 2017

Tempe, Ariz., became America’s new No. 1 Growth City in 2017, according to U-Haul data analyzing the past year’s U.S. migration trends.

Home to the main campus of Arizona State University, which boasts one of the largest undergraduate enrollments in the nation, Tempe shows signs of growth at every corner. New and expanding businesses, hotels and condominiums blanket the north side of the city, which sits 15 miles east/southeast of Phoenix and is just minutes from Sky Harbor Airport.

Year-over-year arrivals of one-way U-Haul truck rentals rose an impressive 39 percent while departures climbed 1 percent from Tempe’s 2016 numbers.

Arrivals accounted for 53.8 percent of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in Tempe, which replaced another booming big-university city – Madison – atop the rankings. Wisconsin’s capital slipped to No. 31 after staking its claim to the No. 1 growth spot for 2016.

Tempe, Arizona. Photo courtesy of Kiana Duran.

“Tempe’s welcoming atmosphere, high quality of life and incredible job market make it a destination for everyone,” Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell stated. “From college students to tech workers, people are making the choice to live, work, study and visit our community.”

Tempe has added more than 30,000 jobs in the last four years and 20,000 residents since 2010, according to city data. Tempe is also home to the U-Haul Technical Center, where the most recognizable truck boxes, trailers and other moving equipment in the industry are built, tested and serviced. U-Haul moved its headquarters to Phoenix in 1967 and has seen the Valley’s growth firsthand, including the influx of activity in and around Tempe.

“There are a lot more apartments and condos coming in around the ASU campus,” said Whitney Beall, U-Haul Company of Metro Phoenix and the East Valley president. “Tempe is a centralized area in the Valley of the Sun. With easy access to connecting freeways and public transportation, it makes the DIY moving experience to Tempe much easier.”

“We are proud to be a part of the city of Tempe, a hotbed of innovation, jobs and growth,” added Sethuraman Panchanathan, executive vice president of Knowledge Enterprise Development and chief research and innovation officer at ASU. “We are committed to working with our cities to further attract the biggest job creators and talent to the region.”

Boise remained in expansion mode, moving up one position to the No. 2 Growth City. Miami, Atlanta and Tacoma rounded out the top five.

Growth Cities are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering a city versus leaving a city during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually.

U-Haul released its Growth States rankings Monday. Texas topped the list for a second straight year, followed by Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina and Tennessee. California unseated Illinois for No. 50 as the biggest net-loss state.

“U-Haul migration trends data is among the most sought after in the industry because it is the most comprehensive,” U-Haul Executive Vice President Stuart Shoen said. “We dot the map in more places with more equipment and reflect the migration patterns of more do-it-yourself movers than anyone else.”

While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well cities and states are attracting and maintaining residents. 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 more than 21,000 U-Haul locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.

U-Haul Top 25 U.S. Growth Cities of 2017

 * All U.S. cities where U-Haul has truck sharing locations are factored, regardless of population