Fewer newcomers made their way to Wyoming and Montana in 2024, but the stream of transplants continues into Idaho. That’s according to data reported by U-Haul, the nation’s largest do-it-yourself moving rental company.
U-Haul compiles data for one-way rentals of shipping containers, trailers and box trucks, then ranks states based on departures and arrivals. This annual snapshot of trends in domestic migration between states found South Carolina to be the No. 1 destination for one-way, incoming U-Hauls. California ranked 50th for incoming rentals and remains the most difficult place for U-Haul to maintain a supply of out-going equipment.
Wyoming was one of the least popular destinations for U-Haul renters in 2024, ranking 36th, blacksliding 22 spots from 2023, when it was the 14th most popular destination.
“Wyoming had registered as a net-gain state (more U-Haul arrivals than departures) or a break-even state every year from 2019-23,” the company reports.
“Wyoming this year we had a few more departures than arrivals,” Jeff Lockridge, a spokesperson for U-Haul International, told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday. “The difference between the two is usually not very big either way, so it's fairly common to get a 100 more arrivals one year, a 100 less arrivals another year.”
In other words, the influx of newcomers — according to U-Haul data — was growing in Wyoming, but now appears to be slipping into a break-even, coming-and-going equilibrium.
Same goes for Montana, which “inches back three spots from its 2023 ranking, although it continues a strong six-year run as either a net-gain state or a break-even state,” according to a U-Haul press release.
“Its net gain number may have just decreased ever so slightly,” Lockridge said about Montana’s trend. “I think the country has found out that Montana is a great place to be and live.”
The places with the most new one-way arrivals in Montana are Eureka, Dillon, Kalispell, Lewistown, Libby, Lolo, Missoula, Polson, Ronan and Stevensville.
“Missoula is the No. 20 U.S. growth city of 2024,” according to the U-Haul Growth Index.
“Looking at year-over-year variations, arrivals were up 3% in 2024 (compared to 2023) while departures were down 3%,” according to the index.
Leaving From Bozeman
Jacob Callis, customer sales representative at U-Haul in Bozeman, Montana, said anecdotally he’s seen an increase people leaving with one-way rentals out of Bozeman headed for more affordable states like South Carolina.
U-Haul doesn’t ask its customers why they are moving, but across the counter when doing the paperwork and handing off keys, Callis hears a lot about why people are choosing to uproot from Bozeman.
“They're going to areas where housing costs are lower,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘I'm gonna have lower taxes over in South Carolina. In Bozeman, housing costs are just getting outrageous.’”
In addition to working at U-Haul, Callis is also a student at Montana State University studying sustainable crop production. He found an internship in North Carolina, “And I'm looking at rent over there. And it's like just under half of what it is here, which is a substantial drop.”
North Carolina ranked third in 2024 for incoming one-way rentals, and Texas ranked second.
The Idaho Boom
Idaho is the No. 10 growth state of 2024, according to U-Haul, and that marks a fourth consecutive year in the top 10.
Thanks to the popularity of places like Boise and Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho’s population recently surged past 2 million, according to the latest U.S. Census numbers.
The U-Haul Growth Index examines 2.5 million one-way truck, trailer and U-Box portable moving container transactions annually in the U.S. and Canada, then generates an immediate look at the past year.
“You're not going to see a 2024 census population until early 2026,” said U-Haul’s Lockridge, singling out Boise as the hot spot in the Northern Rockies for incoming one-way travel.
“You have people moving to Boise because they can buy a property with some acreage,” stated Casey Jones, U-Haul Company of Idaho president, in a Jan. 2 press release. “You can also still get the rural lifestyle while also having the amenities of a big city.
“With a lot of companies targeting Boise for their expansions, job creation is a big reason for more U-Haul trucks pulling into metro Boise from California and other origins.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
