Everything continued to be bigger in Texas last year, including the number of U-Haul trucks pulling into the state versus the volume leaving.

Texas registered as the U-Haul No. 1 Growth State in America for the third consecutive year, according to U-Haul® data analyzing U.S. migration trends for 2018.

Florida ranked second for a third year in row. South Carolina inched up one spot to No. 3, while fast-risers Utah and Idaho rounded out the top five states for growth.

Illinois was 50th on the list for the third time in four years, outpacing No. 48 California and No. 49 Michigan for net departures among out-migration states.

U-Haul Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving that state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck sharing transactions that occur annually.

While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents.

“North Texas is truly bursting at the seams,” stated Kevin Flanagan, U-Haul Company of Northwest Dallas president. “McKinney, Frisco and the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has been growing substantially in recent years. Texas is gaining more residents than any other state. I think it is the most desirable state in which to live. Obviously, many U-Haul truck-sharing customers agree with me.”

Texas arrivals of one-way U-Haul trucks were up 5 percent compared to the state’s 2017 numbers, while arrivals accounted for 50.2 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Texas to keep it the top state for netting do-it-yourself movers. Communities in and around the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin-Round Rock metropolitan areas continued to see some of the largest influxes of U-Haul traffic in the Lone Star State.

“Since Houston is booming, surrounding cities are seeing growth as well,” noted Robert Abidin, U-Haul Company of Northeast Houston president. “Spring is home to the new ExxonMobil® campus, which is bringing thousands of jobs to the area. The oil and gas industry brings people from all over the world to Texas.”

Find individual state press releases, as well as the top 25 U-Haul U.S. Growth Cities (to be released Jan. 3) and Canadian Growth Cities (Jan. 4) for 2018 at myuhaulstory.com.

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 21,000 U-Haul truck and trailer sharing locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.

U-Haul Growth States for 2018

• Previous year rankings in parentheses. Washington, D.C. is its own U-Haul market and is listed among growth states for migration trends purposes. Hawaii is not included since state-to-state truck transactions are not applicable.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 now offers customers access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the self-service options on their internet-connected mobile devices. U-Haul customers’ patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to 161,000 trucks, 118,000 trailers and 42,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 632,000 rooms and 55.2 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

SOURCE U-Haul