Arizona is the No. 8 growth state in the U.S., inching back one spot 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 Arizona fell 6% from 2022 while departures fell nearly 7% as overall moving traffic slowed.
Do-it-yourself movers arriving in Arizona accounted for 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul traffic in and out of the Grand Canyon State (49.7% departures) to make it a top-10 growth state for the fourth consecutive year.
Arizona’s top growth cities are Queen Creek, Surprise and Tucson. Other notable net-gain markets include Scottsdale, Goodyear, Bullhead City, Prescott, Marana, Peoria, Avondale, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Pinetop-Lakeside, Litchfield Park and Anthem.
“Arizona has it all: low cost of living, less crowded cities and sunshine,” said Jesse Ashdown, U-Haul Company of Northwest Phoenix president. “The panoramic desert landscapes are enough to make anyone fall in love with this state. All it takes is one Arizona sunset and people are hooked. The weather is a huge driver, especially for retirees. People are sick of spending winters scraping snow off their cars. Arizona has some of the best winters, and you can still take advantage of the snowy mountains if you’re up for a quick drive.”
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.
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 named the 2023 Best in Biz gold winner for the Most Environmentally Friendly Service of the Year.
