3 booming Dallas suburbs haul in top spots among growing U.S. cities in 2021

A new study confirms that Dallas-Fort Worth was a powerful magnet for new residents in 2021.

The recently released U-Haul Growth Index puts Grapevine at No. 15, Richardson at No. 22, and Carrollton at No. 25 among the U.S. cities last year with the most inbound moves via U-Haul trucks.

All three cities have become hot destinations, with growing scenes for food, retail, and family attractions; Grapevine is even known as the "Christmas Capital of Texas."

Elsewhere in Texas, Bryan-College Station landed at No. 7, and Austin came in at No. 16.

Texas destinations represented one-fifth of U-Haul’s top 25. In fact, Texas leads U-Haul’s list of the top growth states in 2021, based on moving activity.

Texas topped the U-Haul rankings in 2016, 2017, and 2018, but sat at No. 2 behind Florida in 2019 and at No. 2 behind Tennessee in 2020.

“The Texas economy is growing fast,” Kristina Ramos, president of U-Haul Co. of South Austin, says in a news release. “With a strong job market and low cost of living, it’s a no-brainer. Texas doesn’t have an income tax, so families get more for their money.”

Across Texas, arrivals of one-way U-Haul trucks jumped 19 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year, while departures rose 18 percent over 2020. Arrivals made up 50.2 percent of all one-way U-Haul traffic last year in Texas.

U-Haul points out that while its migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an “effective gauge” of how well cities are doing at attracting and keeping residents.

Matt Merrill, U-Haul’s district vice president for Dallas Fort-Worth and West Texas, says many of Texas’ inbound movers are coming from the East and West coasts, particularly California and New York.

“We also see a lot of people coming in from the Chicago markets,” Merrill says. “I think that’s a lot due to the job growth — a lot of opportunity here. The cost of living here is much lower than those areas. Texas is open for business.”

Kissimmee-St. Cloud, Florida, near Orlando, grabbed the No. 1 spot this year.