Based on data from U-Haul involving 2.5 million moves, South Carolina topped the list of states people relocated to across state lines in 2024, knocking Texas off the top spot. Texas had topped U-Haul's list for three consecutive years prior to 2024.
South Carolina and Texas were followed by North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. Indiana, which was ranked No. 27 in 2023, jumped to No. 8. Oklahoma jumped 30 spots from No. 41 to No. 11. Colorado had the largest drop, falling from No. 9 in 2023 to No. 40 in 2024.
California topped the list of states with the most net departures, followed by Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. It was the fifth year in a row California had the most net departures in the U.S.
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“State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time,” stated John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president. “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. Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California."
The South dominated the list of top cities with net arrivals. Dallas ranked No. 1, followed by Charlotte, Phoenix, Lakeland and Austin.
Boise, Idaho, was the top-ranked city for net arrivals not in the southern half of the U.S., coming in at No. 17.
“We are seeing unprecedented growth in the Dallas metro area, both within the city and also suburbs like McKinney, Plano and Addison,” said Sean Fullerton, U-Haul Company of South Central Dallas president. “The cost of living is also extremely reasonable throughout the whole metro. Job growth has led to wages and earnings going up, and tax breaks have led to a lot of people moving to the area.”
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The U.S. Census Bureau releases detailed estimates of state-to-state migration every year, but data for 2024 is not expected to come out until the fall.
The bureau's 2023 data showed that Florida gained 638,089 residents while Texas added 611,942 residents from out-of-state in 2023. That is compared to 510,925 who left Florida and 478,570 who departed Texas. Meanwhile, California lost 690,127 people to other states, while gaining 422,075.
Over 93,000 people moved from California to Texas in 2023, compared to nearly 38,000 who moved from Texas to California.
