The 2026 migration story in 4 numbers

64.5%

Oregon inbound (UVL #1)

62%

NJ outbound (UVL #1, 8 yrs)

66%

Louisiana outbound (Atlas)

2.05x

Idaho in-to-out ratio

The three most-cited public migration studies — United Van Lines (49th annual), Atlas Van Lines (30th annual), and U-Haul Growth Index — converge on a clear pattern for 2026: the Southeast and Mountain West are gaining, the Northeast and high-cost Pacific are losing, and the historic Sun Belt magnets of Texas and Florida are now "balanced."

Top 10 inbound states 2026

Rank	State	UVL inbound %	U-Haul	Atlas note
1	Oregon Inbound	64.5%	—	Tech / health-care jobs (UVL: 36% job-seeker share)
2	South Carolina Inbound	60.8%	#5	Inbound; Charleston growth
3	Delaware Inbound	59.7%	—	Retirement, tax friendly
4	North Carolina Inbound	57.8%	#3	Atlas Southeast top tier
5	West Virginia Inbound	~55%	—	Cost of living
6	Minnesota Inbound	~55%	—	UVL top tier (return migration)
7	Idaho Inbound	—	#8	moveBuddha #1 search ratio 2.05:1
8	Tennessee Inbound	~54%	#4	Nashville magnet
9	Arkansas Inbound	—	—	Atlas #1 inbound; Bentonville/Walmart HQ 38%
10	Alabama Inbound	—	#9	Atlas Southeast cluster

Sources: United Van Lines 49th National Movers Study; U-Haul Growth Index 2025; Atlas Van Lines 2025 Migration Patterns Study.

Top 10 outbound states 2026

Rank	State	UVL outbound %	Years on UVL outbound list	Notes
1	New Jersey Outbound	62%	8 consecutive	Cost-of-living, taxes (improved from 67%)
2	New York Outbound	~58%	multi-year	Cost-of-living, taxes
3	California Outbound	~56%	multi-year	Housing, taxes; ~45K/yr to Texas alone
4	Louisiana Outbound	—	Atlas #1 outbound 2 yrs	66% outbound; insurance, jobs
5	Illinois Now balanced	~55%	multi-year	Shifted to balanced on Atlas 2026
6	Massachusetts Outbound	~54%	multi-year	Housing cost
7	Michigan Outbound	~53%	multi-year	Industrial decline, weather
8	Kansas Outbound	~52%	recurring	Rural job loss
9	Wyoming Outbound	—	Atlas top outbound	Great Plains cluster
10	South Dakota Outbound	—	Atlas top outbound	Sioux Falls leads outbound metro

Sources: ROI-NJ on UVL: NJ outbound 8 yrs; Atlas Van Lines 2025 Migration Patterns.

Balanced states — the 2026 surprise

For the first time in a decade, three of the largest interstate moving destinations have shifted to a balanced classification on the United Van Lines and Atlas studies:

State	Prior status	2026 status	What changed
Texas Balanced	UVL inbound (decade-long)	Balanced	Housing cost in Austin/Dallas now rivals coasts; some return migration
Florida Balanced	UVL inbound (decade-long)	Balanced	Insurance cost surge, hurricane impact; outbound rising
Illinois Balanced	Atlas outbound	Balanced	Chicago retention improvement
California Atlas balanced	Atlas outbound	Balanced on Atlas; still outbound on UVL	Studies diverge — UVL still outbound
New York Atlas balanced	Atlas outbound	Balanced on Atlas; still outbound on UVL	Studies diverge

Source: UVL 49th release; Atlas Van Lines 2025.

What's driving the moves — United Van Lines, by reason

Reason	Share of moves
Closer to family	29%
Company transfer / new job	26%
Retirement	14%
Cost of living / housing	balance
Lifestyle / climate	balance

Atlas Van Lines reports the dominant 2026 driver is affordability — specifically the high cost of homeownership and limited inventory. Overall mobility remains historically low, with the Atlas window measuring Nov 1, 2024 – Oct 31, 2025. Source: Atlas 2025 study release.

U-Haul Growth Index 2025 (released Jan 2026): top inbound states

U-Haul's index analyzes 2.5 million one-way transactions across the US and Canada. The 2025 results — the latest available — show Texas reclaiming the top spot:

U-Haul rank	State	Note
1	Texas	#1 for the 7th time in 10 years; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is the #1 metro
2	Florida	Sustained inbound despite UVL "balanced" reclass
3	North Carolina	Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham anchors
4	Tennessee	Nashville and Knoxville
5	South Carolina	Slid 4 spots from #1 in 2024; Greenville and Charleston
6	Washington	Continued tech-driven inbound
7	Arizona	Phoenix anchor; lower CA cost destination
8	Idaho	Boise anchor; Mountain West rise
9	Alabama	Birmingham, Huntsville (defense/aerospace)
10	Georgia	Atlanta metro anchor

Source: U-Haul Growth Index: Texas back on top for 2025; U-Haul: top US growth metros 2025.

Regional clusters (what the migration map would show)

"Inbound green" zones

Southeast spine: SC, NC, TN, AL, AR, GA — the densest inbound corridor in the country.
Mountain West: ID, MT, AZ, NM — Idaho leads at +36 percentage points vs 2025 baseline.
Pacific Northwest pocket: Oregon stands out as the UVL #1 inbound state.
Mid-Atlantic surprise: Delaware (UVL #3 inbound, retirement-driven, tax friendly).

"Outbound red" zones

Northeast corridor: NJ, NY, MA, CT — structural multi-year outbound.
Great Lakes industrial: MI, IL (now balanced), OH.
High-cost Pacific: CA still outbound on UVL.
Lone deep-South outbound: Louisiana (Atlas #1 outbound 2 yrs).
Great Plains cluster: KS, IA, NE, SD, WY.

"Balanced yellow"

Sun Belt magnets cooling: Texas and Florida (UVL balanced for the first time in a decade).
Coastal states normalizing: Illinois, California, New York — balanced on Atlas (but UVL still tracks CA/NY as outbound).

Source: moveBuddha 2026 Moving Trends: Mountain West +42pp Montana, +36 Idaho, +27 Arizona, +27 New Mexico.

What 2026 migration means for moving and freight

HHG (household-goods) capacity is rebalancing — truck inventory historically pooled around TX and FL terminals. Carriers are now reallocating equipment into Carolinas, Tennessee, and Mountain West.
Backhaul on the Northeast→Southeast corridor is critical. The Atlanta→NY corridor is dense; the empty return is the cost. Carriers running both directions on this lane price 12–18% lower.
Idaho is the wild card. Boise's 2.05:1 inbound search ratio is the highest in the country — carriers without ID presence will pay deadhead premiums to access the lane.
Louisiana outbound creates flatbed and reefer asymmetry. Port of New Orleans and Houma fishing markets keep some return cargo — but household-goods carriers servicing Louisiana need to plan empty miles.
Corporate-relo planners should look at Oregon, Delaware, and the Carolinas first. These are the states with the strongest 2026 inbound momentum and the least competition for HHG capacity.

Planning a corporate relocation or interstate household move? Call ATI at (786) 574-5774 for a binding 2026 quote, or email rates@ship-ati.com. ATI dispatch ((786) 574-5774) is staffed 24/7.

State-by-State Inbound & Outbound Migration 2026