Each year, U-Haul releases a list of states experiencing growth based on their own data for equipment demand for one-way trucks which they call the “U-Haul Growth Index” (U-Haul Growth States of 2022: Texas, Florida Top List Again | U-Haul (uhaul.com)). The 2022 list looked a lot like the 2021 list, following pandemic trends of moving to the Southeast and Southwest of the US. But what does the growth, or the decline, look like in these states?

It’s not surprising when you look at the list to see Texas and Florida top the charts. On the other hand, California secured most demand for one-way trucks heading out of state. The complete list of top 10 and bottom 10 states are on the chart below.

However, it gets more interesting when you dig into the city data (U.S. Growth Cities of 2022: Ocala Tops List as Families Flock to Florida | U-Haul (uhaul.com)). While Ocala, Florida, takes the top spot, Sacramento, California takes second place for most moves on the growth city list. In fact, a Texas city doesn’t hit the list until spot 13. As you can see on the map below, which shows population increases (green) and declines (red), it isn’t as if all of Texas is bright green, or all of California is red. In fact, if you look closely, areas of Dallas have seen declines as people move to neighboring suburbs, and many areas of Southern California are experiencing tremendous growth. Let’s look closer at some of the various state maps to see why these lists aren’t always as they seem.

As you can see below on the map of Texas, it is true that the state is experiencing growth, and even crossed the 30 million mark for total residents. However, it is clear from the map that people are not interested in moving to rural areas, but instead heading to urban areas where job growth has been consistent.

Florida, the second state in the ranking, is seeing massive growth in the middle of the state, while Miami sees major declines. Instead, people are moving to Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. The state capital, Tallahassee, is seeing mostly decline.

As discussed previously, California, the top declining state, isn’t really declining anywhere other than the major cities. While people are fleeing the bay area, Sacramento has become the hot place to live, trickling down to Fresno and even Bakersfield.

As far as Illinois, very few people are moving to that state. Chicago is seeing massive declines. Even rural areas are seeing declining populations, so it is no surprise to see Illinois at the bottom of the list.

We hope that this has been an interesting look into the U-Haul data. Charts and graphs don’t always tell the whole story, but maps always illuminate the truth.