In 2023, California had the most one-way movers for the fourth year in a row.
More people are moving out of California than any other state, according to a recent report by U-Haul, a national moving truck company.
U-Haul released a list Jan. 2 of the
Top Growth States of 2023, ranking each state’s net gain—or loss—of one-way truck or trailer rentals using more than 2.5 million customer transactions nationwide.
On the growth list, the Golden State ranks at number 50, the very bottom of the list.
U-Haul’s data also shows that in 2023, California had the most one-way movers for the fourth year in a row.
Other low-ranking states for growth include Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts—and New York at 43rd—according to U-Haul.
Meanwhile, Texas had the largest number of one-way U-Haul rentals to that state in 2023 for the third consecutive year—with Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee following.
In the report, U-Haul president John Taylor said 2023’s migration still largely follows trends seen in recent years, though the biggest migration spike happened in the year immediately following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While one-way transactions in 2023 remained below the record-breaking levels we witnessed immediately following the pandemic, we continued to see many of the same geographical trends from U-Haul customers moving between states,” he said in a Jan. 2
statement. “Migration to states in the Southeast and Southwest is still very pronounced. Demand for one-way equipment out of certain markets in the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast mirrors what we have seen during recent moving cycles.”
Though U-Haul’s report did not provide specific numbers, the rankings are consistent with recently released
U.S. census data.
California lost a net of 340,000 people to other states in 2022, according to the data.
Of Californians who relocated in 2022, 102,400 moved to Texas, 74,100 to Arizona, and 50,700 to Florida.
In the 2023 documentary “
Leaving California: The Untold Story” by EpochTV’s “California Insider” program, residents say education, housing, and wildfires are among the reasons for leaving the Golden State—in addition to crime, homelessness, and the high cost of living.
