Texas finished first in a new ranking measuring migration growth among the states based on one-way U-Haul truck traffic leaving or entering their borders last year.
For the second year in a row, California had the biggest net loss of U-Haul trucks in 2020, the moving company reported. The next biggest migration loss went to Illinois, which has ranked either 49th or 50th since the company began publishing the ranking in 2015.
Texas edged out both Florida and Tennessee, which had the most net gains in U-Haul truck traffic in 2020, the company said. What makes Texas attractive is its lack of an income tax and low cost of living, according to U-Haul.
Those states with the most migration growth are ranked based on net gains of one-way U-Haul trucks entering the state vs. trucks leaving their borders during a calendar year. Well over 2 million one-way trips are logged by U-Haul every year, the company reported.
U-Haul sees the data as a gauge of which states are attracting residents from outside their borders. Hawaii is not included in the ranking since state-to-state truck moves don’t happen there.
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U-Haul Ranking of Migration Growth Among States
| 2021 U-Haul Growth Rank | State | 2020 Growth Rankings |
| 1 | Texas | 2 |
| 2 | Florida | 3 |
| 3 | Tennessee | 1 |
| 4 | South Carolina | 15 |
| 5 | Arizona | 5 |
| 6 | Indiana | 12 |
| 7 | Colorado | 6 |
| 8 | Maine | 29 |
| 9 | Idaho | 30 |
| 10 | New Mexico | 39 |
| 11 | South Dakota | 25 |
| 12 | Vermont | 26 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 13 |
| 14 | Oregon | 45 |
| 15 | Washington | 36 |
| 16 | Alaska | 34 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 20 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 43 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 9 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 32 |
| 21 | Wyoming | 33 |
| 22 | Montana | 19 |
| 23 | Georgia | 10 |
| 24 | Ohio | 4 |
| 25 | New Hampshire | 23 |
| 26 | West Virginia | 16 |
| 27 | Iowa | 24 |
| 28 | Utah | 17 |
| 29 | Nevada | 8 |
| 30 | Delaware | 27 |
| 31 | Virginia | 28 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | 35 |
| 33 | North Dakota | 37 |
| 34 | Maryland | 46 |
| 35 | Washington, D.C. | 38 |
| 36 | New Jersey | 48 |
| 37 | Mississippi | 31 |
| 38 | Kentucky | 18 |
| 39 | Missouri | 7 |
| 40 | Kansas | 21 |
| 41 | Arkansas | 11 |
| 42 | Michigan | 40 |
| 43 | Louisiana | 44 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | 14 |
| 45 | New York | 42 |
| 46 | Alabama | 22 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 47 |
| 48 | Pennsylvania | 41 |
| 49 | Illinois | 49 |
| 50 | California | 50 |
Source: U-Haul International Inc.
