U-Haul Migration Trends: Florida had 7 of Top 25 U.S. Growth Cities in 2023

The Palm Bay–Melbourne market registered the largest net gain of one-way U-Haul movers

PHOENIX, Jan. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Florida destinations dominated the U.S. growth cities list again in 2023, with the Palm Bay–Melbourne market netting the largest number of movers in one-way U-Haul® equipment last year.

The U-Haul Growth Index found seven Florida markets among the top 25 growth cities last year. It marks the seventh year in a row the Sunshine State has had the most cities represented. Florida had four markets among the top 25 in 2022, and a whopping 10 in 2021.

Ocala, the No. 1 growth city in 2022, backslides one spot in the latest rankings. The Sarasota–Bradenton market ranks fourth just behind Charleston-North Charleston (S.C.). Austin is the fifth-ranked growth city – the first of three top-10 Texas destinations along with the College Station–Bryan market and Dallas.

U-Haul calculates growth cities by each city’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® moving container transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada. Neighboring cities in U-Haul markets are often packaged together for migration trends purposes.

In the Palm Bay–Melbourne market, 54.7% of all one-way U-Haul traffic was arriving compared to just 45.3% departing in 2023.

“Growth in the Palm Bay–Melbourne area has been increasing at an explosive rate,” stated Cal Conner, U-Haul Company of Eastern Florida president. “The Space Coast has many companies investing in this region and creating jobs such as Embraer®, SpaceX®, Northrop Grumman®, Lockheed Martin® and L3Harris Technologies®. We have a low cost of living compared to many of the northern cities people have left. Add to that our fantastic year-round climate, and you can see why Palm Bay–Melbourne is such a desirable area to live.”

Other notable markets to make the top 25 include Kissimmee-St. Cloud (Fla.), Charlotte (N.C.), Boise (Idaho), Knoxville (Tenn.) and Henderson (Nev.).

2023 U-Haul U.S. Growth Cities

2022 growth rankings in parentheses

FIVE MORE notable cities that just missed the cut but posted strong net-gain numbers in 2023:

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 2023 U-Haul growth states release here: Texas and Florida Top Growth States in 2023.

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.

About U-HAUL

Founded in 1945, U-Haul is the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers with more than 23,000 rental locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The enhanced U-Haul app makes it easier for customers to use U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 to access trucks anytime through the self-dispatch and self-return options on their smartphones through our patented Live Verify technology. Our customers’ patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to 192,200 trucks, 138,500 trailers and 44,500 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America with 967,000 rentable units and 83.3 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the top retailer of propane in the U.S. and the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. We were recently named one of America’s Best Large Employers (Forbes, 2023); a Best for Vets Employer (Military Times, 2022); and one of the Healthiest Workplaces in America (Healthiest Employers, 2022). Find careers at uhauljobs.com. Get the U-Haul app from the App Store or Google Play.

Contact:

Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com

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SOURCE U-Haul International