Tennessee Drops to Sixth in U-Haul's Annual Growth Rankings

by Jon Styf

Tennessee ranked sixth as a growth state in U-Haul’s annual index, moving down from its No. 3 ranking a year ago.

The index looks at one-way moves using U-Haul from state to state. The 2022 numbers showed that move-ins dropped by 7% while one-way trucks out of South Carolina decreased 6%.

People using U-Haul to move into the state accounted for 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in and out of Tennessee. Tennessee was No. 1 in the growth rankings in 2020.

Texas and Florida topped the list while North Carolina was fourth and Virginia was fifth. California, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Maryland were at the bottom of the list.

“Ultimately, I think Tennessee continues to be popular because the cost of living is cheaper and we have no state income tax,” said Chris Hardin, U-Haul Company of South Nashville president. “I think Tennessee dropped slightly in the U-Haul Growth Index because of the huge increase in tech jobs that became remote during the pandemic, and some of those people being called back to their California and New York offices in 2022.

“But we continue to have a beautiful state that a lot of people want to make their home.”

Tennessee’s top growth city was Nashville. Other markets that showed a net gain in moving were Maryville, Brentwood, Cleveland, Old Hickory, the Tri-Cities (Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol), Jackson, Hendersonville, La Vergne, Sparta, Ooltewah, Manchester, Hermitage, Mt. Juliet, Greeneville, Cookeville and Germantown.

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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Styf is a reporter for The Center Square.