Austin Business Journal reports, "Texas once again tops U-Haul’s annual list of in-migration states, and Austin is still among the list of growth metros.
Arizona-based U-Haul Holding Co.’s (NYSE: UHAL) annual Growth Index analyzes migration data for one-way customer transactions from the past calendar year. Texas moved up to the No. 1 spot after sitting at No. 2 a year earlier behind South Carolina, which fell to No. 4 on the list released Jan. 5.
Among all one-way U-Haul customer traffic in and out of Texas in 2025, 50.7% was for people moving into the state, while 49.3% was for those leaving. Compared to 2024, customers coming to Texas rose 3% year over year, while departures rose just 1%.
Texas also was No. 1 on the U-Haul Growth Index from 2016 to 2018 and from 2021 to 2023.
“Sunshine and warm weather remain appealing to the moving public, based on the top 10 growth states,” U-Haul noted. “Eight of the top 10 states enjoy a southern geography.”
Additionally, seven of the top 10 growth states have Republican governors, U-Haul added.
Those trends are reflected on the metro level as well.
The Dallas area retained its No. 1 ranking, and the Houston metro jumped from the No. 9 spot on the previous ranking to No. 2 on the new list. The Austin metro takes the No. 3 spot, up from No. 5, while Brownsville-McAllen surged from No. 21 a year earlier to No. 10 now. The San Antonio and College Station metros also make the top 25, at Nos. 21 and 23, respectively.
Among cities specifically, only Conroe makes the ranking, coming in at No. 20. Elsewhere in Texas, McKinney is No. 6, Seguin is No. 14, and New Braunfels is No. 15.
“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,” John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president, said in a news release. “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”
Although rankings might not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is touted as a useful gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents."
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Olivia Pulsinelli
Published: January 6, 2026
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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