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If you’ve ever thought about moving to the Sunshine State, you’re not alone. Florida was ranked the second-highest growth state in 2022, according to the U-Haul Growth Index.
Following the analysis of customer moves last year, Florida ranked number two for the second year in a row and placed as a top-three growth state for the seventh consecutive year.
Florida was topped only by Texas, which was ranked the number one growth state in the US for the second consecutive year and the fifth time since 2016.
South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia round out the top five growth states, while California ranks 50th and Illinois 49th for the third year in a row.
Here are the 2022 growth rankings of all 50 states, with the 2021 rankings in parentheses, according to U-Haul:
| 1. | Texas (1) |
| 2. | FLORIDA (2) |
| 3. | SOUTH CAROLINA (4) |
| 4. | NORTH CAROLINA (19) |
| 5. | VIRGINIA (31) |
| 6. | TENNESSEE (3) |
| 7. | ARIZONA (5) |
| 8. | GEORGIA (23) |
| 9. | Ohio (24) |
| 10. | IDAHO (9) |
| 11. | COLORADO (7) |
| 12. | Utah (28) |
| 13. | NEVADA (29) |
| 14. | Indiana (6) |
| 15. | MISSOURI (39) |
| 16. | WISCONSIN (13) |
| 17. | MINNESOTA (17) |
| 18. | MONTANA (22) |
| 19. | NEW MEXICO (10) |
| 20. | Alabama (46) |
| 21. | Iowa (27) |
| 22. | OREGON (14) |
| 23. | WASHINGTON (15) |
| 24. | PENNSYLVANIA (48) |
| 25. | WEST VIRGINIA (26) |
| 26. | KENTUCKY (38) |
| 27. | DELAWARE (30) |
| 28. | CONNECTICUT (18) |
| 29. | MAINE (8) |
| 30. | VERMONT (12) |
| 31. | SOUTH DAKOTA (11) |
| 32. | NEBRASKA (20) |
| 33. | WYOMING (21) |
| 34. | MISSISSIPPI (37) |
| 35. | LOUISIANA (43) |
| 36. | WASHINGTON DC* (35) |
| 37. | NORTH DAKOTA (33) |
| 38. | NEW HAMPSHIRE (25) |
| 39. | KANSAS (40) |
| 40. | RHODE ISLAND (32) |
| 41. | ALASKA (16) |
| 42. | OKLAHOMA (44) |
| 43. | ARKANSAS (41) |
| 44. | MARYLAND (34) |
| 45. | NEW JERSEY (36) |
| 46. | NEW YORK (45) |
| 47. | MASSACHUSETTS (47) |
| 48. | MICHIGAN (42) |
| 49. | ILLINOIS (49) |
| 50. | CALIFORNIA (50) |
According to U-Haul, the number of people arriving in Florida in one-way U-Haul trucks dropped by 10% from 2021, but departures fell by nearly 11% as overall moving traffic slowed.
“You’re going to have a better employment rate in Florida than anywhere in the US,” said Brady Rome, U-Haul Company of Gainesville president. “There are plenty of job opportunities, and both businesses and residents find the tax benefits here very attractive.”
Florida’s leading growth markets include Ocala, Palm Bay-Melbourne, North Port, Lakeland, Panama City, Daytona Beach, Miami and Fort Myers-North Fort Myers, according to U-Haul. Other notable net-gain cities are Davenport, St. Augustine, Sarasota-Bradenton, Davenport and Kissimmee-St. Cloud.
“When you have warm weather, beaches and amusement parks,” said Rome. “There is a lot of tourism. We see an influx of people every year from tourism. Many visitors choose to move here permanently.”