Missouri is the 15th fastest growing state in the nation

Out of all 50 states in the U.S., Missouri is the number 15th growth state in America. That statistic comes from the national moving company, U-Haul, and is determined by their 2022 Growth Index which analyzed customer moves from last year.

People arriving in Missouri in one-way U-Haul trucks increased by 7% over 2021, while departures rose less than 4%. Overall moving traffic slowed throughout most of the U.S. but remained busy in the Show-Me State in 2022.

Do-it-yourself movers arriving in Missouri accounted for nearly 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in and out of Missouri (49.7% departures) to make it a top-15 growth state for the fourth time in the last five years. Missouri ranked 39th among U-Haul growth states in 2021.

The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled according to the net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks arriving in a city or state, versus departing from that city or state, in a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than two-million one-way U-Haul truck transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.

Texas paced the nation in growth for the fifth time since 2016, while Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia round out the top five growth states. California ranks 50th and Illinois 49th for the third year in a row, indicating those states saw the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks.

Missouri’s top growth cities are St. Louis, Columbia, and Lee’s Summit. Other notable net-gain markets include Liberty, Ballwin, Troy, Nixa, Blue Springs, West Plains, Jefferson City, Lake Ozark, and Overland. While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the moving company claims their Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are both attracting and maintaining residents.