Where are people moving? NC among top states in 2023, Asheville 'notable': U-Haul study
Moving again? Looks like you're not alone in packing up a U-Haul and dropping off your keys — especially if you are moving to the Tar Heel State, or, even specifically, Asheville.
U-Haul, the national moving company known for its large, rentable box trucks, calculates the amount of yearly growth in each state by measuring a state's net gain or net loss of one-way moving equipment. U-Haul does not claim that the report directly correlates with population or economic growth.
Using one of the over 192,000 U-Haul fleet trucks, North Carolina ranked third in the nation for having one-way U-Haul moves throughout the year, coming just behind Florida and Texas. It is the fourth time in the last five years that North Carolina has placed among a Top 10 U-Haul growth state.
Between the 2010 and 2020 U.S. Census, North Carolina grew by over 900,000 bringing the total population to 10.4 million.
A July 2023 population estimate from the U.S. Census now totals North Carolina's population at 10.8 million.
What about Asheville? Other NC metros?
In recent months, other moving services — MoveBuddha or PODS — have reported that more people are interested in Asheville than many other U.S. locations — with a recent study rating it as having the highest ratio of new movers in the country.
MoveBuddha reported that Asheville had the highest move-in to move-out ratio in the country in 2023, with 301 people being interested in moving to the area or moving to the area for every 100 who are leaving. For those using PODS, Asheville saw the 17th highest number of move-ins in the country using the service.
U-Haul similarly placed Asheville as one of the cities seeing the most usage of their moving service.
While not cracking the Top 25 in terms of one-way usage, U-Haul mentions Asheville as a "notable city" in their Top U.S. Growth Cities of 2023 report, remarking that the city just missed the cut, but "posted strong net-gain numbers in 2023."
U-Haul usage in Asheville is split between 51.9% arrivals and 48.1% departures, U-Haul spokesperson Jeff Lockridge wrote in an email to the Citizen Times.
"Asheville was a net-gain city in 2022 and an even more decisive growth city in 2023 with a pretty substantial net gain of one-way U-Haul customers," Lockridge wrote. "This was due to fewer customers leaving the city in 2023, and thus a greater percentage of the city's one-way moving traffic was arrivals."
Between 2010 and 2020, Asheville's population grew by 13.4%, and is now estimated at just under 94,000, according to U.S. Census estimates.
Other North Carolina metropolitan areas were mentioned in the U-Haul study, with Charlotte ranking as seventh in the nation, Wake forest at 15th and Wilmington at 22nd.
The U.S. Census notes that the South accounted for 87% of the nation's population growth in 2023, where migration patterns served as the primary driver for increased population. Nearly 706,266 people domestically migrated to the region in 2023, while international migration accounted for "almost 500,000," according to a Dec. 19 U.S. Census report.
Who saw the most movers?
Here's a list of the top 10 states that saw the most one-way movers in the nation:
Texas
Florida
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Idaho
Washington
Arizona
Colorado
Virginia
More: Looking to travel in 2024? See Asheville Regional Airport's newest nonstop flight options
More: New downtown Asheville hotel opens with '280-degree views'; rooftop pizza to open soon
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC among top states for new movers 2023 Asheville notable U-Haul study
