Wanna get away?

It appears that many Bay Staters want to as Massachusetts remains stuck in the basement for one-way U-Haul customer moves — with southern states leading the way in attracting residents.

Massachusetts was again ranked the second worst state for one-way U-Haul movers last year, coming in 49th on the U-Haul Growth Index. California ranked last, 50th, for the fifth year in a row.

While the Bay State is in the bottom two states, a state agency spokesperson told the Herald there are signs that the out-migration trend is “reversing” — and added that Gov. Maura Healey’s administration “aims to build on this momentum by continuing our work to make Massachusetts more affordable and grow our economy.”

U-Haul growth states are ranked by their net gain — or loss — of U-Haul customers over the past year. This stat is calculated by comparing each state’s one-way arrivals that originated in other states, with its one-way departures that were destined for other states.

The Bay State’s one-way arrival percentage last year was 48% and its departure percentage was 52%.

The U-Haul 49th state ranking for Massachusetts compares to the 2015 ranking of 36th place — when the arrival percentage was 49.9% and the departure percentage was 50.1%.

The top U-Haul growth states last year were southern states: South Carolina, Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.

“State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time,” said John Taylor, U-Haul international president. “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.

“Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California,” Taylor added.

Looking at year-over-year changes, U-Haul arrivals into Massachusetts fell 3.5% while departures fell 4%, as overall moving traffic slowed last year.

“U-Haul’s 2024 report saw departures from Massachusetts decline at a faster rate than arrivals to Massachusetts,” a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development said in a statement.

Some of the leading growth cities in Massachusetts include: Boston, Quincy, Wilmington, Fall River, Plymouth, Fitchburg, Leominster, Hyannis, East Falmouth, Kingston, Franklin, Ayer, Upton and Westfield.

The bottom 10 states on the U-Haul list are: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Maryland, and Connecticut.

“While U-Haul rankings may not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are attracting and maintaining residents,” U-Haul wrote about the rankings.

This report comes in the wake of data from the Census Bureau that shows Massachusetts continues to lose a significant number of residents to out-migration.

While Census Bureau population estimates show an increase of 18,481 people in 2023, that was largely thanks to an influx of 50,000 new foreign immigrants.

In 2023, an estimated 184,534 individuals over a year old left Massachusetts for other states, while 145,021 relocated here from other states. On net, the Bay State lost 39,513 domestic residents.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts experienced an increase in domestic net outmigration consistent with an overall national trend of heightened migration during the pandemic,” a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development said in a statement. “Recent data, including from the Census Bureau and U-Haul, show that this trend is reversing.

“U-Haul’s 2024 report saw departures from Massachusetts decline at a faster rate than arrivals to Massachusetts,” the spokesperson added. “Data released in December by the Census Bureau show Massachusetts’ population grew by 1%, equal to the national growth rate, and that domestic outmigration in 2024 has declined by 50% from the 2022 level and is now on par with pre-pandemic levels.”

In 2023, the destination states that welcomed the greatest net number of Bay Staters were Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and South Carolina. Massachusetts lost net residents to every other New England state including Connecticut, a state known for its high cost structure and taxes.

Florida has consistently been one of the states to which Massachusetts loses the greatest number of individuals. From 2010 to 2023 (excluding 2020), Massachusetts experienced a net loss of 90,372 people to Florida — a figure exceeded only by New Hampshire, which saw a net gain of 98,879 relocating Bay Staters. Maine was also a popular destination, with a net total of 62,557 residents relocating there during that period.

“Migration numbers continue to be a major cause for concern for state policymakers, especially as more reliable data from the IRS, using tax returns, shows that more high-income and young filers (26–34) are leaving, bringing their wealth and future tax dollars with them,” Pioneer Institute wrote.

“Recent polls of both important demographics find no easing of this trend,” the research group added. “To make Massachusetts more competitive and attractive to current and potential residents and employers, Massachusetts needs to do more to lower its overall cost structure. Affordability solutions from growing the housing supply, easing tax burdens, and improving public transportation must be considered.”

Originally Published: January 4, 2025 at 6:18 PM EST