(LOOTPRESS) — West Virginia is the No. 30 growth state in the U.S., backing up five spots from its previous ranking, according to the U-Haul® Growth Index analyzing one-way customer moves during 2023.
One-way U-Haul customers arriving in West Virginia rose more than 2% from 2022 while departures jumped 3%.
Do-it-yourself movers arriving in West Virginia accounted for nearly 49.9% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in and out of the Mountain State (50.1% departures).
West Virginia’s top growth city is Martinsburg. Other notable net-gain markets include Charles Town, Beckley, Berkeley Springs, Bunker Hill, Oak Hill, Wheeling, Fairmont and Vienna. Huntington, Bluefield and Bridgeport are among several break-even markets.
The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled according to the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks, trailers and U-Box moving containers arriving in a city or state, versus departing from that city or state, in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul customer transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.
Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee account for the top five growth states. California ranks 50th for the fourth year in a row with the largest net loss of one-way U-Haul customers.
2023 U-Haul Growth States
1. | TEXAS (1) |
2. | FLORIDA (2) |
3. | NORTH CAROLINA (4) |
4. | SOUTH CAROLINA (3) |
5. | TENNESSEE (6) |
6. | IDAHO (10) |
7. | WASHINGTON (23) |
8. | ARIZONA (7) |
9. | COLORADO (11) |
10. | VIRGINIA (5) |
11. | NEVADA (13) |
12. | VERMONT (30) |
13. | UTAH (12) |
14. | WYOMING (33) |
15. | DELAWARE (27) |
16. | NEW MEXICO (19) |
17. | ARKANSAS (43) |
18. | GEORGIA (8) |
19. | SOUTH DAKOTA (31) |
20. | MINNESOTA (17) |
21. | MONTANA (18) |
22. | ALABAMA (20) |
23. | OHIO (9) |
24. | IOWA (21) |
25. | HAWAII (–) |
26. | WISCONSIN (16) |
27. | INDIANA (14) |
28. | MISSOURI (15) |
29. | KENTUCKY (26) |
30. | WEST VIRGINIA (25) |
31. | MAINE (29) |
32. | NORTH DAKOTA (37) |
33. | KANSAS (39) |
34. | ALASKA (41) |
35. | NEBRASKA (32) |
36. | RHODE ISLAND (40) |
37. | OREGON (22) |
38. | PENNSYLVANIA (24) |
39. | MISSISSIPPI (34) |
40. | NEW HAMPSHIRE (38) |
41. | OKLAHOMA (42) |
42. | CONNECTICUT (28) |
43. | NEW YORK (46) |
44. | MARYLAND (44) |
45. | LOUISIANA (35) |
46. | MICHIGAN (48) |
47. | NEW JERSEY (45) |
48. | ILLINOIS (49) |
49. | MASSACHUSETTS (47) |
50. | CALIFORNIA (50) |
2022 growth rankings in parentheses
While U-Haul migration trends do 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. Find the U-Haul location nearest you at uhaul.com/locations.
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 23,000 U-Haul truck- and trailer-sharing locations provides a broad overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
U-Haul continues to benefit the environment through its shared-use business model. Truck and trailer sharing enables communities to share moving equipment so that families and individuals don’t need to own large-capacity vehicles to transfer belongings. Sustainability initiatives like U-Haul Adaptive Reuse (the preserving and repurposing of existing buildings for new stores), truck modifications to improve fuel economy, and plastic Ready-To-Go Boxes® that are shared hundreds of times before being recycled are among the many ways U-Haul promotes green business. U-Box Load Share, the Company’s latest sustainability program, was just named the 2023 Best in Biz gold winner for the Most Environmentally Friendly Service of the Year.