Outbound Moving Trends: Where New Jersey Ranks

NEW JERSEY — Are more people moving into or out of the Garden State?

Some insight comes from U-Haul, the moving truck company that tracks its trips into and out of every state every year.

U-Haul migration trends released this month ranked the 50 states by the number of its trucks entering state borders in 2020. New Jersey ranks at No. 48 on the list.

Data for the ranking comes from U-Haul’s more than 2 million one-way rentals in 2020, according to a news release from the company.

Last year, New Jersey was ranked at No. 44.

U-Haul isn’t the only company to reflect New Jerseyans moving elsewhere. The 2020 National Migration Study by United Van Lines found that, for the third year in a row, New Jersey is the number one state in the nation that people have moved out of. In fact, United Van Lines found that 70 percent of their clients in New Jersey requested moving services to leave the state.

The moving company cited the number one reason for outbound moves was retirement, followed by family and jobs. New York claimed the second place spot, followed by Illinois, Connecticut and California.

"As more people experience job and lifestyle changes amid the pandemic like remote working, we're seeing they have more flexibility in where they can live," said Eily Cummings, director of corporate communications at United Van Lines. "For example, many choosing to move from urban to more rural areas." Read more: New Jersey Tops List Of Most Moved-Out State, Third Year In A Row

2020 the first time in five years that neither Texas nor Florida found itself at the top of U-Haul’s annual list. Tennessee held the top spot for migration growth in 2020, having jumped from No. 12 on the 2019 list.

A U-Haul representative cites the state’s friendly business environment and lack of income tax for the rapid growth in people moving to the Volunteer State.

“There are plenty of jobs. People and companies are taking note,” Jeff Porter, U-Haul Company of Nashville president, said in a statement. “Places like Nashville, Murfreesboro and Clarksville are attracting tons of new residents. Nashville is ever-growing, and even the era of COVID-19 isn’t slowing that.”

U-Haul said the number of one-way trucks into Tennessee jumped by 12 percent in 2020 as departures rose only 9 percent.

At the bottom of the company’s migration growth list from 2020 is California, which supplanted Illinois as the state with the greatest net loss of U-Haul trucks in 2020.