California lost more residents than any other state last year, new data shows

California hits the bottom again

For the sixth year in a row, California finished last in U-Haul’s 2025 Growth Index, which tracks where Americans move their rental trucks and trailers.

U-Haul released the rankings on Jan. 5, 2026, covering all transactions during 2025. Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois rounded out the bottom five.

The index covers more than 2.5 million one-way rentals across the U.S. and Canada each year.

How U-Haul measures moving trends

The Growth Index ranks states by net gain or loss of one-way customers, people who pick up a truck or trailer in one state and drop it off in another.

U-Haul itself notes the rankings may not directly reflect population or economic growth. One-way rentals are not always tied to permanent moves.

Still, with more than 2.5 million transactions tracked each year, the index gives a broad look at where Americans are heading and where they are leaving behind.

Texas reclaims the No. 1 spot

Texas took back the top spot for the seventh time in 10 years. Arrivals made up about 50.7% of all one-way traffic into and out of the state.

That was up 3% from 2024, while departures rose just 1%. Florida came in second, with arrivals at roughly 50.6% of traffic.

The top five also included North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina, and all five states have held those spots since 2023, just in a different order each year.

Southern and warm-weather states lead the list

The full top 10 included Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Alabama, and Georgia.

Eight of the top 10 are in the South, and U-Haul noted that sunshine and warm weather appear to remain a motivating factor for movers.

Meanwhile, eight of the bottom 10 states are in the North, including five in the Northeast and three in the Midwest.

California sees one small bright spot

California’s net loss of one-way movers in 2025 was smaller than in 2024. Arrivals made up about 49.4% of one-way traffic, with 50.6% leaving.

Both arrivals and departures fell compared to 2024, but departures dropped more.

According to U-Haul’s separate metro rankings, San Diego and San Francisco were the only California cities among the top 25 U.S. metros to post a net gain of one-way customers in 2025.

California’s total population still grew slightly

The U-Haul index tells only part of the story. The California Department of Finance reported the state’s total population grew by about 19,200 people in fiscal year 2024-2025, reaching roughly 39,529,000 residents.

That is a growth rate of about 0.05%. All of that growth came from international immigration and natural increase.

Net domestic migration was negative: about 216,000 more people left for other states than moved in from them.

Housing costs push people out

The Public Policy Institute of California identifies housing affordability as the main factor pushing residents out. Senior fellow Eric McGhee has said the state is simply too expensive to live in for many people.

A PPIC statewide survey found that 37% of Californians have seriously thought about leaving because of housing costs. Home prices and rents in California run well above the national average, and that gap has not closed.

Lower-income residents leave at the highest rates

PPIC data show California lost a net of about 532,000 lower-income adults over the past decade. That represents more than 10% of the state’s lower-income adult population.

Middle-income families and retirees are also heading elsewhere in search of more affordable housing.

Remote workers have had an easier time leaving because many kept their California-based salaries while relocating to cheaper states.

Oregon climbed, Ohio dropped sharply

Oregon had the biggest year-over-year jump in the index, climbing 23 spots to rank 11th as a net-gain state. Ohio had the biggest drop, falling 29 spots from 14th to 43rd.

Other notable decliners included Virginia, down 19 spots, Indiana, down 17, and Iowa, down 12. On the other side, Mississippi climbed 18 spots, Colorado rose 17, and Nevada gained 15.

A political pattern shows up in the data

U-Haul reported that seven of the top 10 growth states have Republican governors, and nine of those states voted Republican in the most recent presidential election.

Nine of the bottom 10 states have Democratic governors, and seven voted Democratic.

PPIC research has separately found that people leaving California are more likely to be Republican, while those arriving are more likely to be Democratic.

What comes next for California

California has posted negative net domestic migration for more than 20 years.

International immigration has partially offset those losses, but that flow dropped by about half in 2025 after the federal government ended many humanitarian migration programs.

The California Department of Finance has said the state will likely see slower population growth in the coming years. Future housing policy and federal immigration decisions could shape whether those trends shift.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Middle-Class Is Leaving California, Too
• California ranks last in the U.S. for new residents as more people leave
• Los Angeles Just Lost More Residents Than Any U.S. City – For the Fourth Year Running