BNSF is quietly scooping up Wittmann properties around an already sprawling site where the railway giant has long planned to build a $3.2 billion logistics park.

The company this month acquired 55.95 acres across 14 transactions totaling $9,033,750, according to Maricopa County property records. One seller told the Phoenix Business Journal they were unable to disclose more information as they signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Texas rail giant, while other sellers could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

One transaction involved a property purchased in June 2025 for $95,000, which was then sold to BNSF in January for $150,000.

Lena Kent, a company spokesperson, confirmed in an email statement that the company recently purchased additional land in Wittmann adjacent to its existing property.

“This purchase included homes surrounded on all three sides by land BNSF already owned,” Kent said. “Given the proximity of these homes to Logistics Park Phoenix, BNSF believed acquiring the properties was a responsible and appropriate step, and we completed the transaction with willing sellers.”

This story is posted in partnership with Phoenix Business Journal. Click to read the full story.

• A recent report named a ZIP code in Surprise among the most popular moving destinations in the U.S.
• The 85387 ZIP code in Surprise ranked sixth nationwide for attracting new residents per capita.
• Data shows movers are favoring commutable suburban areas with new construction and greater affordability.

As 2026 gets underway, one Arizona ZIP code is standing out nationwide, ranking among the most popular destinations for movers across the U.S.

A recent report by MovingPlace, a website that compares mover services nationwide, named a ZIP code in the West Valley among the areas in the U.S. that is attracting the most people as 2026 kicks off.

The report analyzed U.S. migration flows from December 2025 to determine what American families are prioritizing when looking for an area to relocate. Study data showed families are looking to move to specific neighborhoods rather than just choosing a particular state or region.

Analysts evaluated and compared ZIP codes across the country based on nearly 700,000 recent moves. The ZIP codes were ranked according to the number of moves per capita, total move volume and the biggest month-over-month increases, including both local and inbound relocations.

Here’s what the data showed about the neighborhoods people are moving to, and which Arizona neighborhood is attracting the most movers.

Top 10 most popular ZIP codes to move to in 2026

These are the 10 ZIP codes that are attracting the most new residents per capita, according to MovingPlace.

1. 34987 – Port Saint Lucie, Florida
2. 75114 – Crandall, Texas
3. 87001 – Algodones, New Mexico
4. 80019 – Aurora, Colorado
5. 37228 – Nashville, Tennessee
6. 85387 – Surprise, Arizona
7. 78701 – Austin, Texas
8. 28445 – Holly Ridge, North Carolina
9. 33576 – San Antonio, Florida
10. 75251 – Dallas, Texas

Why is Surprise an attractive area for people moving?

The 85387 ZIP code in the tranquil city of Surprise took the sixth spot nationwide, attracting 11 newcomers per 1,000 residents in December. This was Surprise’s second consecutive month in MovingPlace’s top 10, but its position lowered from No. 5 to No. 6 this month.

The median house price in the area is approximately $440,300, while the median household income is around $95,500, according to the report’s data.

According to the report’s findings, people are increasingly heading toward the commutable edges of major metro areas, where new construction and affordability offer relief from the high costs of urban centers. As part of the rapidly expanding Phoenix area, this Surprise ZIP code is favored for its new residential communities and desert landscapes, according to MovingPlace.

Another Arizona zip code was also highlighted in the study for attracting some of the highest numbers for total moves in December.

How the study was done

MovingPlace based the rankings on proprietary data from millions of residential moves across the U.S. each year. The data for the January report was taken in December 2025.

Analysts looked at origin and destination ZIP codes to calculate which areas are attracting the most new residents, both nationwide and within each state. The dataset for the monthly reports is consistently updated to obtain insights to understand migration trends, highlight patterns in population growth, suburban expansion, and regional hotspots.

PHOENIX — Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program has reached a significant milestone, with more than 100,000 students now enrolled in the controversial school choice initiative.

The ESA program allows parents to use tax money that would have been allocated for their child’s public school education to pay for private schooling or homeschooling expenses instead.

Since the program’s universal expansion in 2022, more than 6,000 students join each quarter on average, and the state’s ESA website shows 100,208 ESA students are currently enrolled as of January 20.

Shift in student demographics

Early data showed most ESA students represented additional expenses – children already homeschooled or attending private schools. However, recent trends show a significant shift.

Now, four in 10 new ESA students weren’t previously funded by public education dollars, down from eight in 10 when the program began.

Geographic concentration in suburban areas

ESA enrollment is most popular in the Valley’s suburban communities, particularly in the southeast region. Four of the five ZIP codes adding the most ESA students are located in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.

The one outlier is ZIP code 85365, which covers the Yuma Proving Grounds area and serves mostly military families.

Public schools losing students to ESA

The school districts experiencing the highest percentage of students leaving for ESA include Kingman Unified, Alhambra Elementary, Dysart Unified, Amphitheatre Unified in Tucson, and Queen Creek Unified.

Among charter schools, online institutions are seeing the most departures. These include ASU Preparatory Digital, Arizona Connections Academy, American Virtual Academy, American Leadership Academy, and charter schools run by Eduprize Schools.

How ESA funds are being spent

Nearly six in 10 ESA dollars spent last quarter went toward private school tuition or textbooks, totaling almost $104 million.

About $70 million was spent on homeschooling or supplemental materials – a category that has drawn scrutiny for some questionable expenses.

Spending drops significantly for other categories, including online learning, disability services for non-universal students, technology, and classes at postsecondary institutions like Mesa Community College.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.