The moving company U-Haul released its annual report ranking the states in order of how many people are moving there. Arizona ranked seventh, dropping from sixth last year. Texas topped the number one spot, with California last at 50.
U-Haul stated that a preference for Republican politics drove the moving habits. “Blue-to-red state migration, a hotly debated political topic that became more pronounced after the pandemic of 2020, continues to be a discernable trend,” the company said. “Seven of the top 10 growth states currently feature Republican governors, and nine of those states went red in the last presidential election. Conversely, nine of the bottom 10 growth states feature Democrat governors, and seven of those states went blue in the last presidential election.”
The top five states have remained the same as in 2024 and 2023, except switching places. They are Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina.
All top 10 states are red states except Washington, which ranked sixth. Several red states made large jumps in the rankings, including Mississippi (+18 spots), Louisiana (+13) and Montana (+12). U-Haul noted that Florida “has never ranked below fourth since U-Haul started ranking growth states in 2015.”
The bottom five states are all blue states, as well as most of the bottom 10.
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