Americans flocked to settle in this scenic Southern state in 2024, U-Haul says: See the list
A recent study found that a scenic state in the Southeast became the most popular place to move to in 2024, according to U-Haul.
The moving and storage company recently published its U-Haul Growth Index, which measures how many customers use one-way U-Haul equipment each year. South Carolina, 2024's winner, knocked Texas, which topped the list over the past few years, from the top spot.
"Growth rankings are configured by each state’s net gain (or loss) of customers utilizing one-way U-Haul equipment in a calendar year," the study explained. "The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from well over 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box® moving container transactions that occur annually."
Here were the least-to-most popular states to move to in 2024, according to U-Haul:
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50. California
49. Massachusetts
48. New Jersey
47. New York
46. Pennsylvania
45. Illinois
44. Louisiana
43. Michigan
42. Maryland
41. Connecticut
40. Colorado
39. Mississippi
38. Rhode Island
37. New Mexico
36. Wyoming
35. Nevada
34. Oregon
33. New Hampshire
32. Kansas
31. North Dakota
30. West Virginia
29. Nebraska
28. Missouri
27. Alaska
26. Hawaii
25. Kentucky
24. Montana
23. Iowa
22. Wisconsin
21. Delaware
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20. Vermont
19. South Dakota
18. Minnesota
17. Virginia
16. Alabama
15. Georgia
14. Ohio
13. Maine
12. Arkansas
11. Oklahoma
10. Idaho
9. Utah
8. Indiana
7. Washington
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6. Arizona
5. Tennessee
4. Florida
3. North Carolina
2. Texas
1. South Carolina
Though Texas still ranks high, U-Haul noted that the Palmetto State actually dethroned Texas from its first-place position last year.
"Texas has ranked first or second among U-Haul Growth States each year since 2016," the company noted. "Florida has been fourth or higher every year since 2015."
"Of all the U-Haul movers coming and going from the Palmetto State in 2024, more than 51.7% were arrivals," the company added.
In a statement, U-Haul International president J.T. Taylor said that 2024's state-to-state transactions "reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time."
"Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state," Taylor said. "Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California."
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"U-Haul continues to expand its network, rental fleet and self-storage footprint so that wherever people move in 2025, we will be there to meet their needs," he added.
The uptick in migration to Southern states is not surprising given other recent studies. Last year, the National Association of Realtors' 2024 Migration Trends report also found that Southern states were the most popular areas to move to.
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Interestingly, only 1% of those who migrated south did so because of the weather, according to the report. Meanwhile, 42% of the Americans who moved to a different state cited housing-related reasons, while 26% did so for family reasons and 16% jumped borders for employment reasons.
Click here to read the U-Haul study's full findings.
Fox Business' Breck Dumas contributed to this report.