People Up and Moved to These 10 States Last Year

America has always been a nation filled with people on the move, and that remains true today.

Each year, U-Haul analyzes its in-house data to determine which states are the recipients of the largest number of one-way moves. The South and West dominated the rankings in 2023.

In addition, the state that topped the list in 2023 earned that honor for the third straight year.

Here are the top states that attracted the most movers in 2023, according to U-Haul.

Virginia

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

• 2023: No. 10
• 2022: No. 5

Visit Tangier Island in Virginia‘s Chesapeake Bay and you will detect an English dialect unheard anywhere else in the world.

British colonists settled the land in the 1860s, and the isolation of the area ensured that their way of speaking remained intact.

Colorado

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 9
2022: No. 11

Colorado‘s nickname — the Centennial State — grew out of the year of its statehood. That event took place in 1876, one century after the U.S. officially became a nation.

Arizona

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 8
2022: No. 7

The first McDonald’s drive-thru window appeared in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in 1975.

It was the result of a determination by the restaurant to be able to serve U.S. soldiers from Fort Huachuca, who were forbidden from exiting their vehicles when off-post and wearing fatigues.

Washington

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 7
2022: No. 23

Washington‘s claim to musical fame is strong. Not only did grunge emerge here, but the state is also the birthplace of Jimi Hendrix and was the site of inventions such as the bass guitar and whammy bar.

Idaho

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 6
2022: No. 10

Idaho was the first state to place a graphic illustration on a license plate. In 1928, it added an Idaho potato.

Tennessee

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 5
2022: No. 6

Everybody knows that Memphis, Tennessee, is the site of Graceland, the longtime home of Elvis Presley. But you might not realize that Graceland is the second-most visited house museum in the U.S. after the White House.

South Carolina

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 4
2022: No. 3

South Carolina‘s nickname is the Palmetto State, which honors the official state tree, the sabal palmetto.

Wood from these trees was used to build forts during the Revolutionary War because it was soft enough to better absorb cannonball blasts.

North Carolina

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 3
2022: No. 4

Legendary baseball slugger Babe Ruth — arguably the most famous athlete in U.S. history — is said to have hit his first home run in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on March 7, 1914. A sign marks the spot of the blast just north of the intersection of Gillespie Street and Southern Avenue.

Florida

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 2
2022: No. 2

Florida is the only state to have an embassy in the nation’s capital city, Washington, D.C.

Located a block from the U.S. Capitol, Florida House is a nonprofit owned by the people of Florida, not the state.

Texas

This state’s ranking based on net one-way U-Haul equipment rentals in:

2023: No. 1
2022: No. 1

Texas could split into five states if it wanted to do so. When the Republic of Texas, a sovereign nation that had existed since 1836, voted to join the U.S. in 1845, the annexation agreement allowed for such a decision without approval from the federal government.