Texas: Top destination for movers in 2022, U-Haul data shows

Texas was the top two states to which Americans moved to in 2022, according to the U-Haul Growth Index published on Tuesday. 

Texas ranked as the top destination for movers for the second year in a row and the fifth time since 2016, adding 470,000 residents between July 2021 and July 2022, according to the truck rental moving company.  

“The 2022 trends in migration followed very similar patterns to 2021 with Texas, Florida, the Carolinas, and the Southwest continuing to see solid growth,” John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president, said in a prepared statement. “We still have areas with strong demand for one-way rentals.

"Texas is great because you have a low cost of living, no state income tax, and deregulated energy costs," Robert Abidin, President of U-Haul Company of Northeast Houston, said in a statement. "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."

On the opposite side of the spectrum was California, which ranked last on U-Haul's index with a large demand for trucks to move out of the state. The Golden State lost around 113,000 people last year. This is the third year that California comes in at the last spot. 

“Demand for equipment out of California, Illinois, and New York remained strong in 2022, as more people opted to leave areas of the West Coast, Northeast, and Midwest,” the U-Haul report said.

Other states that made it to the top five spots include Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, in order. Meanwhile, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Illinois joined California in the bottom five. 

“The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled according to the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a state or city, versus departing from that state or city, in a calendar year,” according to the U-Haul website.