Florida ranks 2nd for net gain of one-way customers; California last for sixth year in a row
Texas and Florida lead the list of in-migration states on the U-Haul® Growth Index analyzing one-way customer transactions during 2025, while California ranks last with the greatest out-migration number for the sixth consecutive year.
Texas reclaims the title of No. 1 U-Haul growth state for the seventh time in 10 years. It climbs one spot from its previous ranking behind South Carolina, which slides four spots after being the leading growth state for 2024.
Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee follow Texas as prime destinations. It’s the same top five from 2024 and 2023, although in a different order.
The top 10 also includes Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Alabama and Georgia.
While California’s exodus of do-it-yourself movers was greater than any other state, it saw a smaller net loss in 2025 than in 2024. Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Illinois also rank among the bottom five on the index.
Growth formula
U-Haul ranks states by their net gain (or loss) of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer or U-Box® moving containers in one state and dropped off their equipment in another state.
The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from well over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the U.S. and Canada.
While rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents. Find migration trends press releases and past reports at uhaul.com/about/migration.
Biggest movers
Oregon enjoys the largest year-over-year climb on the index, ranking 11th as a net-gain state in 2025 after ranking 34th as a net-loss state in 2024 — a jump of 23 positions. Other notable gainers include Mississippi (+18 spots), Colorado (+17), Nevada (+15), New Mexico (+15), Louisiana (+13) and Montana (+12).
Ohio has the largest YOY drop on the index, falling 29 positions to 43rd as a net-loss state in 2025 after ranking 14th as a net-gain state in 2024. Virginia (-19 spots), Indiana (-17), Iowa (-12), Delaware (-12) and Nebraska (-10) also see a double-digit drop in the rankings.
2025 U-Haul Growth States
1. TEXAS (2)
2. FLORIDA (4)
3. NORTH CAROLINA (3)
4. TENNESSEE (5)
5. SOUTH CAROLINA (1)
6. WASHINGTON (7)
7. ARIZONA (6)
8. IDAHO (10)
9. ALABAMA (16)
10. GEORGIA (15)
11. OREGON (34)
12. MONTANA (24)
13. ARKANSAS (12)
14. OKLAHOMA (11)
15. MAINE (13)
16. UTAH (9)
17. KENTUCKY (25)
18. SOUTH DAKOTA (19)
19. MINNESOTA (18)
20. NEVADA (35)
21. MISSISSIPPI (39)
22. NEW MEXICO (37)
23. COLORADO (40)
24. VERMONT (20)
25. INDIANA (8)
26. WISCONSIN (22)
27. ALASKA (27)
28. HAWAII (26)
29. MISSOURI (28)
30. WYOMING (36)
31. LOUISIANA (44)
32. NEW HAMPSHIRE (33)
33. DELAWARE (21)
34. WEST VIRGINIA (30)
35. IOWA (23)
36. VIRGINIA (17)
37. KANSAS (32)
38. NORTH DAKOTA (31)
39. NEBRASKA (29)
40. RHODE ISLAND (38)
41. MICHIGAN (43)
42. CONNECTICUT (41)
43. OHIO (14)
44. PENNSYLVANIA (46)
45. MARYLAND (42)
46. MASSACHUSETTS (49)
47. NEW YORK (47)
48. NEW JERSEY (48)
49. ILLINOIS (45)
50. CALIFORNIA (50)
* 2024 rankings in parentheses
Geography and politics
Sunshine and warm weather remain appealing to the moving public, based on the top 10 growth states. Eight of the top 10 states enjoy a southern geography. Six are in the Southeast, including four of the top five.
Conversely, eight of the bottom 10 states are northern states. Five of those out-migration markets are in the Northeast and three are in the Midwest.
Blue-to-red state migration, a hotly debated political topic that became more pronounced after the pandemic of 2020, continues to be a discernable trend.
Seven of the top 10 growth states currently feature Republican governors, and nine of those states went red in the last presidential election.
Conversely, nine of the bottom 10 growth states feature Democrat governors, and seven of those states went blue in the last presidential election.
Turning to Texas
U-Haul customers arriving in Texas accounted for 50.7% of all one-way traffic in and out of the state last year (49.3% leaving). Compared to 2024, customers coming to Texas rose 3% YOY while departures rose just 1% YOY.
Texas also ranked first on the U-Haul Growth Index from 2016-18 and 2021-23.
Florida, meanwhile, saw arrivals account for 50.6% of all one-way traffic in and out of the state last year (49.4% leaving) to climb two spots. Compared to 2024, customers coming to Florida rose 2% YOY while departures rose 1% YOY.
The Sunshine State has never ranked below fourth since U-Haul started ranking growth states in 2015.
Quotable
“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president.
“But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”
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 24,000 rental locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
Celebrating 80 years of moving families to a better life, U-Haul is a veteran-founded and family-run organization that benefits the environment through its shared-use business model.
U-Haul strives to ease the stress of a residential move by providing customers with one month of free self-storage services at a U-Haul-owned facility near their destination when they make a qualifying one-way equipment rental. Take advantage of the free month offer on the U-Haul app, uhaul.com, in store or by calling 1-800-GO-UHAUL.
