Volunteer State News

Tennessee has snagged the top spot for the first time ever as the top state to move to, according to U-Haul.

The state had the largest net gain of U-Haul trucks in 2020. 

"I'm seeing a lot of people from California move (to Tennessee) because they're attracted to our lifestyle,” Jeff Porter, U-Haul Company of Nashville president, said in a news release. "Tennessee has no income tax and is very business-friendly. There are plenty of jobs. People and companies are taking note. 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. We were seeing movement before the virus hit, but I think the situation has pushed a lot more people away from the West Coast to our state.”

The top 10 states were Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia, the news release stated. Texas took the number 2 spot for the fifth year in a row.

California was ranked in the last place by a wide margin. Since 2016 it has been ranked in 48th or lower. Illinois has been in 49th or 50th since 2015.

Arrivals to Tennessee accounted for 50.6 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic in the state, the news release noted.

"The best thing about Tennessee is the southern hospitality. People are decent to one another,” Clay McQuade, U-Haul Company of Knoxville president, said in the news release. "I believe the draw to Tennessee is the rural atmosphere. The government is still not so oppressive on zoning and regulation, so people are able to build, and cities are friendly to business. Tourism is a big draw in this region, mostly for the Great Smoky Mountains. There's plenty to do outdoors.”

U-Haul has been ranking states based on annual net gain since 2015.