U-Haul 2023 Reports California Beats Every State for Residents Moving Out

When will California politicians admit that residents are fleeing the Golden State in droves, and have been for a decade?

The U-Hauls leaving California in 2023 marked the fourth consecutive year the once Golden State finished on top of the U-Haul Growth Index – meaning more Californians rented one-way U-Haul trucks to leave the state in 2023, than residents of any other state.

Californians are moving out.

The top states Californians were leaving for – as we’ve become accustomed to, Florida and Texas, North and South Carolina and Tennessee.

U-Haul reports that Idaho, Washington, Arizona, Colorado and Virginia were also in the top 10 states for inbound migration.

High taxes, high cost of living – highest-in-the-nation housing costs, highest-in-the-nation gas prices, failing public schools, and loss of parental rights – all factor in the decision to move.

Other states losing population are Michigan (46), New Jersey (47), Illinois (48) and Massachusetts (49). New York ranks 43rd.

Washington state, which ranked #23 last year in the U-Haul report, jumped to #7 in 2023 as a destination state. Vermont jumped from #30 to #12. Wyoming jumped from #33 to #14. Even South Dakota jumped from #31 to #19.

Oregon fell from #22 to #37, Pennsylvania #24 to #38, and Louisiana fell from #35 to #45.

In 2022, 817,000 Californians moved to other states.

California also lost a net of 407,000 residents to other states between July 2021 and July 2022.

The California Department of Finance recently announced that California’s overall population loss slowed down dramatically during the 2022-2023 fiscal year, with the state losing only 37,200 people. We are questioning that number given that U-Haul still ranks Californians as the top state for outbound migration.

“U-Haul calculates growth states by each state’s net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box moving container transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.”

“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,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president.

“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. Wherever DIY customers go, and whatever mobility and self-storage needs they have in 2024, U-Haul will be there with solutions.”

2023 U-Haul Growth States