Florida Leads in Net Gains of New Residents
U-Haul said the younger generations are moving to Florida and starting families because of the lifestyle and job opportunities.
MIAMI — Florida is the No. 4 growth state of 2024, according to U-Haul Growth Index data analyzing one-way customer transactions during the past year.
This marks the 10th consecutive year the Sunshine State has been among the top four leading U-Haul growth states. It ranked second from 2021-23 and was No. 1 back in 2019.
South Carolina climbs three spots to dethrone Texas for the top growth spot.
U-Haul customers coming to Florida accounted for 50.4% of all one-way traffic in and out of the state (49.6% departures) last year.
Looking at year-over-year changes, U-Haul arrivals into Florida fell 1% while departures fell 0.5% as overall moving traffic slowed in 2024. Despite a fractional slide in arrivals YOY that nudged Florida down two spots on the growth list, Florida still welcomed the country's fourth biggest net gain of U-Haul movers.
U-Haul ranks growth states according to each state's net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box® portable moving container transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.
"Florida continues to see people arriving from states throughout the Northeast. Some of the many reasons are our great weather, beautiful beaches and the amusement parks," said Mario Martinez, U-Haul area district vice president.
"We have no state income tax, which attracts a lot of people to Florida. There are a lot of job opportunities. We see many big Amazon warehouses bringing in people, and there are a lot of new Walmart stores and other big companies setting up shop and creating growth. We also see younger generations moving here and starting families because they like the Florida lifestyle. There is so much to do here, and so many job opportunities once they finish school."
Florida's notable leading growth cities include (in alphabetical order): Bradenton, Brandon, Clermont, Davenport, Daytona Beach, Fernandina Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Haines City, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Melbourne, Neptune Beach, North Fort Myers, North Port, Ocala, Palm Bay, Panama City, Port St. Lucie, Sarasota, St. Cloud and Titusville.
North Carolina and Tennessee are also among the top five growth states for 2024. It's the same top five from 2023, but in a slightly different order.
California ranks 50th for the fifth year in a row with the largest net loss of one-way U-Haul customers. Oklahoma (+30), Indiana (+19) and Maine (+18) are the biggest risers YOY, while Colorado (-31), Nevada (-24), Wyoming (-22) and New Mexico (-21) saw the biggest slides.
The top five fastest growing states on the 2024 U-Haul Growth chart, in order, are South Carolina (4), Texas (1), North Carolina (3), Florida (2) and Tennessee (5). The 2023 growth rankings are in parentheses.
While U-Haul rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents.
Copyright © 2025, Highlands News-Sun, all rights reserved.