More people are fleeing California than any other state — as Golden Staters pack up and head to places like Texas and Florida, according to a new U-Haul analysis.
California ranked dead last for the sixth time in a row on the moving and storage rental company’s list of “growth states.”
The grim news came with a bit of a very small silver lining — the out-migration wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, the company said in a Monday news release.
“While California’s exodus of do-it-yourself movers was greater than any other state, it saw a smaller net loss in 2025 than in 2024,” the release stated.
Rounding out the bottom five were Illinois (49), New Jersey (48), New York (47) and Massachusetts (46). The bottom five and nine out of 10 worst states for growth are run by Democrat governors while seven went blue in the last presidential election, according to U-Haul.
Meanwhile, the top 10 growth states are all run by Republican governors and nine went red in the 2024 presidential election, the analysis said. The top five states for growth were Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina, according to U-Haul.
“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president.
“But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings,” Taylor added. “In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”
The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million rides where customers rented a truck or trailer in one state and dropped it off in another, according to the company.
The biggest jump in ranking came from Oregon, which jumped to 11th on the 2025 growth list after ranking 34th as a net-loss state in 2024. Ohio had the biggest fall, dropping to 29 positions to 43 on the growth list.
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Florida took 12 of 25 spots on the city growth list including Ocala which was ranked No. 1. Not one California city made the list.
The rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth but are an effective gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents, U-Haul said.
Data from May in The Journal of Consumer Research showed that California had the highest net negative migration of -7,330 — as15,568 people left while only 8,238 moved into the state
The journal cited its high cost of living among the factors driving Californians out.
