Wall Street Journal columnist Dan Henninger discusses the large population of Americans moving to southern and western states in search of economic opportunity.
Texas and Florida are the two states that will attract Americans in 2022, according to the U-Haul Growth Index, which measured more than two million one-way trips last year.
The Lone Star State, which ranked top for the second year in a row and fifth since 2016, has had steady population growth for decades, with more than 30 million residents last year.
The only other state with more than 30 million people, California ranked last on the U-Haul Growth Index last year as demand for trucks from the Golden State skyrocketed.
FILE PHOTO: U-Haul moving truck parked in a neighborhood. (Collection Smith/Gado/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Texas gained about 470,000 people between July 2021 and July 2022, according to the US Census Bureau, while California lost about 113,000 people.
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Domestic migration, ie, Americans moving within states, accounted for about 231,000 of Texas’ population increase during this period, while international migration accounted for 118,000 and natural increase for an additional 118,000 residents.
“Texas is great because of the low cost of living, no state income tax and deregulated energy costs,” Robert Abidin, president of the U-Haul Company of Northeast Houston, said in a statement. “Texas is also the energy capital of the United States. We are home to all major industries. Anything you look for in Texas, you will find in Texas.”
FILE PHOTO: Cityscape of Austin, Texas. (iStock / iStock)
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Florida ranked second in the growth index for the second consecutive year.
South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia rounded out the top five states for growth in 2022, while New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, and California all finished in the bottom five.