If you rented a one-way trip on a moving van, U-Haul knows. And the moving giant says of all those one-way trips in and out of U.S. states, California netted the largest loss for the sixth time in a row.

Among the one-way trips into or out of California, 50.6% came from emigres, U-Haul data reported. Meaning: It had the largest net loss of all the states, though that gap shrank compared to 2024.

Chris Trudell, marketing company president of U-Haul of Central Valley, said the state’s smaller towns drove growth compared to larger metro areas.

“We’ve seen little towns become big cities and big cities become smaller cities because people just don’t want to be in the metros anymore,” Trudell said in the company’s news release.

Conversely, cost of living and cost of doing business drove people away, he said.

“On the flip side, we’ve seen a lot of people leave because the cost of living does get a little expensive here in California versus other states,” Trudell said. “We’ve seen a lot of companies leave because of the cost of different things such as payroll as well as just the cost to operate in some of these markets.”

Small Cities Led Growth: U-Haul

Sacramento Valley saw large growth, including Folsom, Roseville, and Yuba City, Trudell said. From 2018 to 2023, Folsom’s population has increased 10%, according to the Sacramento News Review.

Population growth follows physical growth when city officials vote to annex new land. This generates new residents along with complaints from long-time citizens about traffic congestion and environmental degradation.

In Southern California, people chose places such as Huntington Beach or Santa Barbara in lieu of the LA Metro, Trudell said.

The one metro that did see gains was San Francisco, which had positive growth for the first time in years.

U-Haul Users Favored Red States Over Blue States

U-Haul noted the popularity of red states versus blue states for do-it-yourself movers. Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina made up the top five net growers again — four of five of which have Republican governors.

U-Haul Area District Vice President President Cory Hall said Texas’ strong job market spurred its growth, making it the top destination for seven of the last 10 years.

“Texas quality of life is above others in my opinion,” Hall said. “We have things to do here for families, schools are good, wages are good, and for a lot of people it’s a lower cost of living due to no (state) income tax.”

At the bottom end, nine out of 10 states have Democrat governors, with California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts as loss leaders.

U-Haul compiled data from 2.5 million one-way trips across the U.S. and Canada.