Keep on truckin’
Austin moves onto list of top growth cities in the U.S. for 2021
By at least one measure, Austin was a powerful magnet in 2021 for new residents.
The recently released U-Haul Growth Index puts Austin at No. 16 among the U.S. cities last year with the most inbound moves via U-Haul trucks. Kissimmee-St. Cloud, Florida, near Orlando, grabs the No. 1 spot.
The number of customers coming to Austin in one-way U-Haul trucks rose nearly 22 percent last year compared with 2020, while one-way departures rose 18 percent from 2020. Arriving customers accounted for 50.4 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in Austin during 2021.
Austin did not appear in U-Haul’s top 25 last year or in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. But it did hold the No. 2 spot on U-Haul’s list for 2016.
Aside from Austin, four other Texas locales make U-Haul’s top 25 for 2021:
- No. 7: Bryan-College Station
- No. 15: Grapevine
- No. 22: Richardson
- No. 25: Carrollton
As such, Texas destinations represented one-fifth of U-Haul’s top 25. In fact, Texas leads U-Haul’s list of the top growth states in 2021, based on moving activity.
Texas topped the U-Haul rankings in 2016, 2017, and 2018, but sat at No. 2 behind Florida in 2019 and at No. 2 behind Tennessee in 2020.
“The Texas economy is growing fast,” Kristina Ramos, president of U-Haul Co. of South Austin, says in a news release. “With a strong job market and low cost of living, it’s a no-brainer. Texas doesn’t have an income tax, so families get more for their money.”
Across Texas, arrivals of one-way U-Haul trucks jumped 19 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year, while departures rose 18 percent over 2020. Arrivals made up 50.2 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic last year in Texas.
U-Haul points out that while its migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an “effective gauge” of how well cities are doing at attracting and keeping residents.
Matt Merrill, U-Haul’s district vice president for Dallas Fort-Worth and West Texas, says many of Texas’ inbound movers are coming from the East and West coasts, particularly California and New York.
“We also see a lot of people coming in from the Chicago markets,” Merrill says. “I think that’s a lot due to the job growth — a lot of opportunity here. The cost of living here is much lower than those areas. Texas is open for business.”
People gather on the steps during the opening ceremony.Photo by Jane Yun
Blue Lapis Light performers highlighted the tower in a dramatic way.Photo by Jane Yun
