Daniel Prince
Jan 7, 2022
State trails only Texas, Florida, and Tennessee
South Carolina is the #4 growth state in America, according to data compiled for the annual U-Haul Growth Index. The index measures the number of one-way U-Haul trucks coming into and going out of states. South Carolina saw a 22% increase in one-way U-Haul trucks coming to South Carolina, while departures increased by about 20%, as there was an overall surge in moving traffic in 2021.
Growth states are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering the state versus leaving the state in a calendar year. Last year, SC ranked #15, while they were #3 in 2019 and #4 in 2018. Texas, Florida, and Tennessee ranked higher than SC this year, with Arizona at #5. California ranked last and Illinois ranked #49, showing the highest net losses in one-way U-Haul trucks.
South Carolina’s top growth cities include Myrtle Beach, Greenville, the North Myrtle Beach-Little River market, the Charleston-North Charleston market, Spartanburg, and Bluffton. Other notable cities with net gains include Aiken, Indian Land, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner, and Sumter.
U-Haul notes that their migration trends do not directly correlate to population or economic growth, but the index is an effective gauge of how well states are both attracting and maintaining residents.