For the second year in a row, U-Haul has ranked Texas as the top state for growth in the country.
According to the massive American moving vehicle rental company, one-way U-Hauls destined for the Lone Star State “increased more than 1% from 2021, while departures also rose about 1%.”
U-Haul reported that DIY movers continue to demand vehicle rentals to leave states like California, Illinois, and New York, destined for the Southeast and Southwest U.S. While these trends began before COVID-19 started to spread, they “were amplified and accelerated during the pandemic,” according to the company.
Given U-Haul’s size and scale, the index the company compiles is significant. The U-Haul Growth Index tracks the net gain of one-way trucks arriving at a particular location in a given year versus those departing. An incredible total of two million-plus one-way trips were tracked to determine the results.
While the company explained that its “migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth,” the index offers “an effective gauge of how well states and cities are both attracting and maintaining residents.”
“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,” said U-Haul.
Texas, and Dallas in particular, has been a magnet for new arrivals, especially millennials. In 2021 alone, Dallas netted over 6,300 new millennials to the city. This stands in stark contrast to places like New York City, which lost tens of thousands of members of the demographic during the same period.
It is not just young people moving to North Texas but businesses as well. At least 23 companies relocated to the state in 2022, including construction and mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, cloud networking firm Aviatrix, and autonomous robot courier manufacturer Clevon.
The year prior was even busier, with 62 businesses moving in, with nearly half settling in North Texas.
Zane Rowland, President of U-Haul Company of Northeast Dallas, said, “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.”
Robert Abidin, President of U-Haul Company of Northeast Houston, explained that the state is attractive because of the low cost of living, lack of state income tax, and “deregulated energy costs.”
“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,” Abidin said.
Texas has enjoyed the top ranking in five of the past seven years, only falling one spot from the top in 2019 and 2020.
Florida landed in second place on the 2022 list, followed by South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.
California experienced the least growth according to the U-Haul Growth Index, taking the last spot in the country.