U-Haul Migration Trends: TEXAS No. 1 Growth State for 2017

PHOENIX and HOUSTON, Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas continued its reign as America's No. 1 Growth State during 2017, according to U-Haul data analyzing the past year's U.S. migration trends.

Year-over-year arrivals of one-way U-Haul truck rentals rose 1 percent while departures climbed 3 percent from Texas's 2016 numbers. Some of the state's increase in overall U-Haul transactions can likely be attributed to an active hurricane season.

Despite a larger year-over-year increase in departures, arriving trucks still accounted for 50.3 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Texas to maintain its status as the top net-gain state. Texas secured the No. 1 growth ranking for 2016 after settling for the No. 39 spot for 2015.

Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering a state versus leaving a state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually.

Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina and Tennessee rounded out the top five, and North Carolina was seventh, continuing a strong growth movement in the Southeast. California overtook Illinois on the list as the biggest net-loss state.

View the complete top 50 rankings along with more migration trends reports, including U.S. Growth Cities, at myuhaulstory.com.

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.

McKinney, Prosper, College Station, Temple and Kaufman paced Texas's net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks. Austin, Midland, Pflugerville, New Braunfels and Irving were among other notable cities to post strong net gains. Find U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers in Texas at uhaul.com/locations.

"We say that everything is bigger in Texas, and you've heard the slogan 'Texas Strong' during the (Hurricane Harvey) recovery," said Matt Merrill, U-Haul Company of West Houston president. "We're not waiting for anyone to come with handouts. Everybody is helping everybody. We know that it happened and we know what we went through. But you wouldn't be able to go through today and see that a hurricane hit. The recovery has been handled well."

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 locations provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.

The arrival of U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 is revolutionizing the moving industry through its more convenient, more secure way to pick up and return a truck. U-Haul live verification technology allows rental transactions to be carried out entirely on a smartphone at any hour – day or night. There are no membership fees. Simply visit uhaul.com to create an online account.

What They're Saying about Texas

"All throughout Texas growth is occurring, especially in the Houston Metro region. Daikin just relocated all of its corporate offices here. Amazon built a massive distribution center and is in process of building a second one right now. BP just finished a massive construction project, and plenty of other companies are moving here because the cost of living is relatively low compared to other metros. And the growth continues because of our airport – you can fly anywhere in world out of Houston, on any airline." — Matt Merrill, U-Haul Company of West Houston president

"Due to the attractive tax incentives for corporations, large companies are flocking into the Dallas area: Toyota, Dr. Pepper, Exxon, T.I., etc. Housing development is booming everywhere in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Everywhere you look, new businesses, homes and apartment/condo buildings are going up. … The economy is up as Dallas employment is at an all-time high. So why not move to Texas?" — Debbie Morales, U-Haul Company of East Dallas president

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 more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than 51 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.

Contact:

Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com

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SOURCE U-Haul