Texas came in second highest on a new ranking measuring migration growth among the states based on one-way U-Haul truck traffic leaving or entering their borders last year.
California displaced Illinois as the state with the biggest net loss of U-Haul trucks in 2020, the moving company reported. And Texas was ranked second in U-Haul’s 2019 migration growth study.
Both Texas and Florida had the most net gains in U-Haul truck traffic from 2016 to 2019 before they were displaced by Tennessee in 2020, the company said. What makes Tennessee attractive is its business-friendliness and low taxes, 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. More than 2 million one-way trips are logged by U-Haul every year, the company reported.
The annual ranking tracks truck traffic moving among its 22,000 truck- and trailer-sharing locations. U-Haul sees the data as a gauge of which states are attracting residents from outside their borders.
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U-Haul Ranking of Migration Growth Among States
| 2020 Rank | State | 2019 Rank |
| 1 | Tennessee | 12 |
| 2 | Texas | 2 |
| 3 | Florida | 1 |
| 4 | Ohio | 7 |
| 5 | Arizona | 20 |
| 6 | Colorado | 42 |
| 7 | Missouri | 13 |
| 8 | Nevada | 24 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 3 |
| 10 | Georgia | 16 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 23 |
| 12 | Indiana | 9 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 41 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 14 |
| 15 | South Carolina | 4 |
| 16 | West Virginia | 22 |
| 17 | Utah | 8 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 37 |
| 19 | Montana | 26 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 15 |
| 21 | Kansas | 18 |
| 22 | Alabama | 6 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | 31 |
| 24 | Iowa | 30 |
| 25 | South Dakota | 28 |
| 26 | Vermont | 10 |
| 27 | Delaware | 21 |
| 28 | Virginia | 39 |
| 29 | Maine | 33 |
| 30 | Idaho | 11 |
| 31 | Mississippi | 25 |
| 32 | Nebraska | 19 |
| 33 | Wyoming | 27 |
| 34 | Alaska | 17 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | 35 |
| 36 | Washington | 5 |
| 37 | North Dakota | 32 |
| 38 | Washington, D.C. | 38 |
| 39 | New Mexico | 36 |
| 40 | Michigan | 48 |
| 41 | Pennsylvania | 46 |
| 42 | New York | 43 |
| 43 | Connecticut | 34 |
| 44 | Louisiana | 40 |
| 45 | Oregon | 29 |
| 46 | Maryland | 45 |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 47 |
| 48 | New Jersey | 44 |
| 49 | Illinois | 50 |
| 50 | California | 49 |
Source: U-Haul International Inc.
