- February 14, 2025
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Florida, in a report on who is moving where nationally — and how often — trails Texas yet again.
At least where Texas has booming Dallas and Austin, Florida has its own rapid risers: Bradenton and Davenport in Polk County.
This latest report comes from U-Haul. The truck rental firm, in its annual migration survey, calculated net gain of one-way truck renters in states and cities versus who left that state or city during 2018. The migration trends data, according to a statement, is compiled from more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions.
The Lone Star State, for the third consecutive year, is No. 1 in the survey. The Sunshine State ranked No. 2 — also for the third straight year. South Carolina moved up one spot to No. 3, while two states out west, Utah and Idaho, climbed up from No. 21 and No. 14, respectively, to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Florida has finished in the No. 2 spot behind Texas in other economic vitality and business climate surveys.
The top cities on the U-Haul migration rankings, meanwhile, posted some mild surprises. For one, six California cities are on the top 25, including No. 1 Sacramento and No. 6 San Francisco. The latter is particularly peculiar given the sky-high cost of living there.
Florida posted five cities in the top 25, including Bradenton at No. 17 and Davenport at No. 25. Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale and Kissimmee are the other Florida cities on the top 25.
Top 10 States, U-Haul migration, 2018
State Rank 2017 Rank
Texas 1 1
Florida 2 2
South Carolina 3 4
Utah 4 21
Idaho 5 14
Maryland 6 42
Vermont 7 10
Tennessee 8 5
New Hampshire 9 31
Maine 10 26
Top Florida Cities, U-Haul migration, 2018
City Ranking
Fort Lauderdale 8
Kissimmee 10
Bradenton 17
Port St. Lucie 21
Davenport 25