Where FL Ranks Amid Top Growth States, Cities In 2025: U-Haul’s List

Not only was Florida the No. 2 growth state for 2025 according to U-Haul Growth Index, but a number of cities landed among the moving and storage company’s top growth metro areas and top growth cities.

U-Haul ranks states, metro areas and cities by the net gain or loss of customers who rented a one-way truck, trailer or moving container in one state and dropped off their equipment in another. The rankings are compiled from the company’s more than 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the U.S. and Canada.

In the No. 1 spot, Texas is the only state ahead of Florida for in-migration states.

Find the full list of top states here.

As far as U-Haul Growth Metro Areas, the following areas in the Sunshine State landed on the top 25 list:

• No. 11 - Lakeland
• No. 13 - Palm Bay
• No. 18 - Jacksonville
• No. 19 - Port St. Lucie
• No. 24 - Miami

Dallas was the No. 1 metro area with the greatest net gain of one-way customers in 2025, according to U-Haul.

Meanwhile, Florida is home to eight of the top 10 Growth Cities and 12 of the top 25.

Ocala retained the No. 1 spot, which it held in 2024 and 2022.

Here are the Florida cities to rank among the top 25:

• No. 1 - Ocala
• No. 2 - North Port
• No. 4 - Kissimmee
• No. 5 - Clermont
• No. 7 - Fort Lauderdale
• No. 8 - St. Augustine
• No. 9 - Daytona Beach
• No. 10 - Panama City
• No. 12 - North Fort Myers
• No. 16 - Leesburg
• No. 18 - Sarasota
• No. 19 - St. Cloud

Find the complete lists of top metro areas and cities here.

The top 10 2025 U-Haul Growth States are (numbers in parentheses are the 2024 rank):

1. Texas (2)
2. Florida (4)
3. North Carolina (3)
4. Tennessee (5)
5. South Carolina (1)
6. Washington (7)
7. Arizona (6)
8. Idaho (10)
9. Alabama (16)
10. Georgia (15)

The five states with the least inbound migration were: California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president. “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”