SC growing more than even FL, CA or Texas, U-Haul says in new report. Here’s how much

South Carolina grew more than any other state last year because of new arrivals, a recent report from U-Haul shows.

The annual U-Haul Growth Index revealed that South Carolina jumped to number one in 2024 from its fourth-place spot a year earlier — continuing a trend of southern states netting big population gains from people relocating in recent years, a U-Haul press release states.

Of all the U-Haul movers coming and going from the Palmetto State in 2024, more than 51.7% were arrivals, the report shows.

Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee round out the top five states with the most growth in 2024. Texas held the top growth spot the previous three years.

Meanwhile, California had the biggest net loss of movers in U-Haul equipment and ranks 50th on the list.

“State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time,” John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president, said in the press release. “Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life, and other factors that go into relocating to a new state.

U-Haul Methodology

The growth rankings are determined by each state’s net gain or loss of customers using one-way U-Haul equipment 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.

SC Census Data

The U-Haul findings reflect similar findings in U.S. Census Bureau data.

According to the recent Census data, South Carolina gained 203,674 people from other states in 2023, year-over-year. Of those new residents, 28,109 came from North Carolina — the most from a single state. It was considerably more than the second-highest state, Georgia, with 17,378 people.

The new Census data also shows that South Carolina got an influx of 26,113 new residents in 2023 who lived outside the U.S. the previous year.

U-Haul top 10 growth states for 2024

1. South Carolina
   
   
2. Texas
   
   
3. North Carolina
   
   
4. Florida
   
   
5. Tennessee
   
   
6. Arizona
   
   
7. Washington
   
   
8. Indiana
   
   
9. Utah
   
   
10. Idaho
    
    

Patrick McCreless

The State

803-771-8353

Patrick McCreless is the Southeast service journalism editor for McClatchy, who leads and edits a team of six reporters in South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The team writes about trending news of the day and topics that help readers in their daily lives and better informs them about their communities. He attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama and grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL.