Top 10 Markets On 2021 U-Haul Growth Index Include North Port, Sarasota-Bradenton

NORTH PORT, FL — Ten Florida markets made U-Haul’s list of top 25 U.S. cities for growth in 2021.

And six of those Florida markets cracked the top 10 list, including North Port at No. 4 and Sarasota-Bradenton at No. 10, according to transactional data compiled for the annual U-Haul Growth Index.

Kissimmee-St. Cloud, less than 30 miles south of Orlando, earned the No. 1 spot last year after ranking No. 2 for growth in 2019 and 2020, U-Haul said.

Other Florida cities to make the top 25 are: Palm Bay-Melbourne, Fort Myers-North Fort Myers; Clermont; Sarasota-Bradenton; Daytona Beach; Port St. Lucie; Brandon-Riverview; and Ocala.

Growth cities are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks entering a city or market versus leaving that city or market in a calendar year, the company said.

Migration trends data is compiled using more than 2 million one-way U-Haul truck customer transactions that occur annually. Neighboring cities in U-Haul markets are often packaged together for migration trends purposes.

“Florida remains competitive, especially during the COVID era,” said Miguel Caminos, U-Haul Company of Orlando, president. “We’ve pushed through, and business is thriving. It’s not just people moving to Florida, but businesses moving because they see better opportunities here.”

Here’s the complete top 25 list for U.S. growth cities last year:

1. Kissimmee-St. Cloud, Florida
2. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
3. Palm Bay-Melbourne, Florida
4. North Port, Florida
5. Madison, Wisconsin
6. Fort Myers-North Fort Myers, Florida
7. College Station-Bryan, Texas
8. Sacramento-Roseville, California
9. Clermont, Florida
10. Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida
11. Daytona Beach, Florida
12. San Diego, California
13. Port St. Lucie, Florida
14. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
15. Grapevine, Texas
16. Austin, Texas
17. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
18. Surprise, Arizona
19. Brandon-Riverview, Florida
20. Wilmington, North Carolina
21. Denver, Colorado
22. Richardson, Texas
23. Auburn-Opelika, Alabama
24. Ocala, Florida
25. Carrollton, Texas

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Arrivals of U-Haul trucks into Kissimmee-St. Cloud climbed 31 percent last year, while departures rose 29 percent as overall moving traffic spiked in the market, the company said. Arriving trucks accounted for 53.2 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Kissimmee-St. Cloud.

“Florida has always been a destination location for retirees, but more so (in 2021), I think a lot of people took early retirements and decided to come down,” said Mario Martinez, U-Haul area district vice president of Southern Florida.

He added, “There are many other reasons why people are coming to Florida and have come in previous years. We have lower cost (of living) than other states. There is no state income tax – that’s a huge factor. The warm weather. Basically, we have summer weather all year long. Attractions. Our beaches. The activities. There’s just so much to do. Jobs that are available play a very important part in people moving into Florida. And during this pandemic for the past two years, we’ve also pretty much been open the entire time. This state has kept on going, and (2021) has just been busy all the way around.”