Atlanta Among Top Growth Destinations In U.S.: U-Haul Report

ATLANTA, GA — The Southeast leads the list of states that the most people are moving to, led by Florida and Texas, a report by U-Haul says.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta region ranks No. 9 among the top 10 booming metro areas. The rankings are determined by an analysis of one-way customer transactions during 2025.

Georgia ranked 10th for people moving into a state, with an in-migration rate of 50.2%.

The U-Haul Growth Index for 2025 again named the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area as the No. 1 U-Haul growth metro with the greatest net gain of one-way customers.

The other top metros for growth last year were:

• Houston, TX
• Austin, TX
• Charlotte, NC
• Phoenix, AZ
• Nashville, TN
• Charleston, SC
• Raleigh, NC
• Atlanta, GA
• Brownsville and McAllen, TX

Likewise, the city of Ocala, Fla., retains the title of No. 1 U-Haul growth city, a distinction it also held for 2024 and 2022, the moving company said.

The state attracting the fewest newcomers was California.

"While California’s exodus of do-it-yourself movers was greater than any other state, it saw a smaller net loss in 2025 than in 2024," U-Haul said.

The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from well over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the U.S. and Canada, the company said. While rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul index is a gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents.

The top 10 2025 U-Haul Growth States are (numbers in parentheses are the 2024 rank):

1. TEXAS (2)
2. FLORIDA (4)
3. NORTH CAROLINA (3)
4. TENNESSEE (5)
5. SOUTH CAROLINA (1)
6. WASHINGTON (7)
7. ARIZONA (6)
8. IDAHO (10)
9. ALABAMA (16)
10. GEORGIA (15)

The five states with the least inbound migration were: California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president. “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”

Biggest movers

Oregon enjoys the largest year-over-year climb on the index, ranking 11th as a net-gain state in 2025 after ranking 34th as a net-loss state in 2024 — a jump of 23 positions. Other notable gainers include Mississippi (+18 spots), Colorado (+17), Nevada (+15), New Mexico (+15), Louisiana (+13) and Montana (+12).

Ohio has the largest YOY drop on the index, falling 29 positions to 43rd as a net-loss state in 2025 after ranking 14th as a net-gain state in 2024. Virginia (-19 spots), Indiana (-17), Iowa (-12), Delaware (-12) and Nebraska (-10) also see a double-digit drop in the rankings.