MD An Unpopular Place To Move To, Says New U-Haul Index

The Southeast leads the list of states that the most people are moving to, led by Florida and Texas, a report by U-Haul says. But does that love extend to Maryland?

The U-Haul Growth Index for 2025 is compiled from well over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the U.S. and Canada. The rankings are determined by an analysis of one-way customer transactions during 2025.

While rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul index is a gauge of how well states, metros and cities are attracting and maintaining residents, the company claims.

“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.”

Few Americans chose to move to Maryland in 2025. The state ranked No. 45 as a move-in state last year, down three slots from No. 42 in 2024.

Meanwhile, one Virginia city ranked among the top 15 for growth cities. Fredericksburg was the No. 13 U-Haul growth city for its net gain of one-way customers. That rank is a move up two slots from a year ago.

Conversely, Virginia overall ranked 36th for people moving into a state, falling 19 places from a year ago.

The city of Ocala, Florida, retained the title of No. 1 U-Haul growth city, a distinction it also held for 2024 and 2022, the moving company said.

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.

The state attracting the fewest newcomers was California.

"While California’s exodus of do-it-yourself movers was greater than any other state, it saw a smaller net loss in 2025 than in 2024," U-Haul said.

Biggest movers

Oregon enjoys the largest year-over-year climb on the index, ranking 11th as a net-gain state in 2025 after ranking 34th as a net-loss state in 2024 — a jump of 23 positions. Other notable gainers include Mississippi (+18 spots), Colorado (+17), Nevada (+15), New Mexico (+15), Louisiana (+13) and Montana (+12).

Ohio has the largest YOY drop on the index, falling 29 positions to 43rd as a net-loss state in 2025 after ranking 14th as a net-gain state in 2024. Virginia (-19 spots), Indiana (-17), Iowa (-12), Delaware (-12) and Nebraska (-10) also see a double-digit drop in the rankings.