Texas back as most popular state to move to in U-Haul’s 2025 list

Texas reclaimed its spot as the most popular state to move to, according to U-Haul’s 2025 list of "growth states." This is the fourth time the state has topped the rankings in the past five years.

To arrive at the rankings, U-Haul determined each state’s net gain or loss by analyzing how many customers used one-way equipment from the company in 2025. More than 2.5 million truck, trailer and U-Box moving container transactions across the U.S. and Canada were gathered to create the U-Haul Growth Index.

John "J.T." Taylor, U-Haul International president, shared some insight into the reasons why people may move over state lines.

"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," Taylor said. "But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers."

Texas back as the most popular state to move to, South Carolina falls to No. 5

In 2024, Texas lost its three-year streak as the No. 1 growth state in the moving vehicle rental company’s annual rankings. And its replacement was an unlikely suspect: South Carolina claimed the title for the first time since U-Haul began tracking annual rankings in 2015. In 2023, South Carolina held the No. 4 spot; in 2025, it dropped down to No. 5.

Of those crossing Texas lines, more U-Haul customers moved into the state (50.7%) than out of it (49.3%). From 2024, the rate of those moving into Texas rose 3% while the rate of those moving out of Texas only rose 1%.

This is the seventh time in the past decade that Texas has been U-Haul’s top growth state.

Where people moved — and why — in 2025

U-Haul's 2025 report also reveals regional trends that may have geographical and political implications.

Eight of the top 10 growth states are in the southern region. More specifically, six are in the Southeast, including four of the top five. On the other hand, eight of the bottom 10 states are northern states: five in the Northeast and three in the Midwest.

Also of significance was the continuance of blue-to-red state migration, which U-Haul notes "became more pronounced after the pandemic of 2020." Seven of the top 10 growth states currently have Republican governors, and nine voted red in the 2024 presidential election. Comparatively, nine of the bottom 10 states have Democrat governors, and seven voted blue in the 2024 election.

Most popular states people moved to in 2025, ranked

The numbers in parentheses represent 2024 rankings.

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)