South Carolina is the 15th growth state in America, according to U-Haul data that analyzes the migration patterns of 2020.
Tennessee overtook Texas, the leading growth state of 2016-18, and Florida, the No. 1 growth state in 2019, to take first place on the new U-Haul chart, according to a press release. Ohio and Arizona complete the top five growth states.
People who moved to South Carolina in one-way U-Haul trucks increased by more than 9% over the past year, while departures increased by more than 10% from 2019. Despite the biggest increase in departures, arrivals still accounted for about 50.4% of all unilateral traffic from U-Haul in South Carolina during 2020 to make it State No. 15. Palmetto State was ranked No. 4 in 2019.
South Carolina’s main growth cities are Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Spartanburg and Greenville, the statement said. Other net gain cities include the North Myrtle Beach / Little River corridor, Bluffton, Mount Pleasant, Cayce, Goose Creek, Hilton Head Island, Lexington and North Charleston.
Growth states are calculated by the net gain of one-sided U-Haul trucks entering a state versus leaving the state for a calendar year, the statement said. Migration trend data is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul transactions annually.
Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia complete the top 10 growth states for do-it-yourself engines, while California slips to 50 as the state with the highest emigration. New York ranks 42nd. Illinois is 49th.
Although U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly with population or economic growth, the company’s growth data is an effective indicator of how cities are attracting and retaining residents, the company said in the statement.
The U-Haul network is in all 50 Canadian states and 10 provinces.