Florida is the #4 Growth State in 2024
Annual U-Haul ranking report lists Florida as the 4th most popular moving destination in the U.S.
People continue moving to Florida, but slightly less than did in 2023. Based upon U-Haul's annual ranking report, Florida was named as the #4 growth state in 2024, being beaten out by South Carolina, Texas and North Carolina for the accolade as the nation's top growth states.
U-Haul's ranking list, which comprises more than 2.5 million truck-sharing transactions that occur annually, calculates growth states by looking at the net gain of U-Haul trucks entering a given state, vs leaving it, in a single calendar year.
J.T. Taylor, U-Haul International President states "Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state."
Florida previously ranked as the #2 growth state in the nation for both 2023 and 2022, so has now pulled back a bit to the #4 slot.
As more people continue to move to the sunshine state each year, Florida is currently ranked as the 3rd most populated state behind California (39 million) and Texas (30.5 million). To view the size of Florida's metropolitan areas, and how they compare, visit our Florida's 10 Largest Metropolitan Areas page.
U-Haul's ranking list, which comprises more than 2.5 million truck-sharing transactions that occur annually, calculates growth states by looking at the net gain of U-Haul trucks entering a given state, vs leaving it, in a single calendar year.
J.T. Taylor, U-Haul International President states "Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state."
Florida previously ranked as the #2 growth state in the nation for both 2023 and 2022, so has now pulled back a bit to the #4 slot.
As more people continue to move to the sunshine state each year, Florida is currently ranked as the 3rd most populated state behind California (39 million) and Texas (30.5 million). To view the size of Florida's metropolitan areas, and how they compare, visit our Florida's 10 Largest Metropolitan Areas page.
Top Growth States (2024)
| Rank | State | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Carolina | 5.4 Million |
| 2. | Texas | 30.5 Million |
| 3. | North Carolina | 10.8 Million |
| 4. | Florida | 22.6 Million |
| 5. | Tennessee | 7.1 Million |
Source: U-Haul Top Growth States 2024
U-Haul further examined their data of one-way destination trips (of which their trucks were being driven to) to determine the top growth cities and metro areas for 2024. For your convenience, we have mapped these top growth cities and metro areas in Florida to provide a visual of the growing and popular Florida destinations people are moving to.
Top Florida Growth Cities (2024)
| Rank | City |
|---|---|
| 1. | Ocala |
| 2. | Kissimmee |
| 3. | Clermont |
| 4. | Port St. Lucie |
| 5. | Panama City |
Top Florida Growth Metros (2024)
| Rank | Metro Area |
|---|---|
| 1. | Lakeland |
| 2. | Palm Bay - Melbourne |
| 3. | Jacksonville |
| 4. | Tampa |
| 5. | Sarasota |
| 6. | Fort Myers |
| 7. | Daytona Beach |
