The Chronicles Of Grant County

Moving Patterns

U-Haul reported statistics on moving patterns to and from the Silver City Area as well as to and from New Mexico. (The photograph was provided courtesy of U-Haul, 2022.)

According to statistics issued by U-Haul in early January of 2023, slightly more people moved into the Silver City Area as compared to the number of people who moved away from the Silver City Area during 2022.

The company reported that U-Haul customer traffic in the Silver City Area included 52.4% arrivals and 47.6% departures in 2022.

Arrivals to the community, the company indicated, increased 7% from 2021 to 2022; departures from the community increased 4% from 2021 to 2022.

To put these numbers into perspective, consider the moving patterns throughout the State of New Mexico. New Mexico ranked as the number 19th growth state in the United States during 2022, according to a news release from U-Haul.

The growth index statistics reported by the company are based on its analyzation of customer moves during that year. The stats reference moves in and out of the 49 continental states and the District of Columbia; the stats do not include moves in and out of Hawai'i.

U-Haul is headquartered in Phoenix. The company has a network of 23,000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. The locations provide a variety of services, including do-it-yourself moving vehicle rentals and self-storage units.

"People arriving in New Mexico in one-way U-Haul trucks rose nearly 5% over 2021, while departures increased 6%," U-Haul noted in its news release. "Overall moving traffic slowed throughout most of the U S but remained busy in the Land of Enchantment in 2022."

"Despite a greater year-over-year jump in departures, do-it-yourself movers arriving in New Mexico still accounted for 50.3% of all one-way U-Haul truck traffic in and out of the state (49.7% departures) to earn it a top-20 growth ranking for a second year in a row," the news release continued. "New Mexico ranked 10th among U-Haul growth states in 2021."

The company indicated that "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 2 million one-way U-Haul truck transactions that occur annually across the U S and Canada. While U-Haul migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, the U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well states and cities are both attracting and maintaining residents."

U-Haul stated that "New Mexico's top growth market [was] Las Cruces [in 2022]. Other notable net-gain markets [included] Taos, Santa Fe, Los Lunas, Carlsbad, Ruidoso-Ruidoso Downs, Belen, Truth or Consequences, Gallup, and Alamogordo."

For year 2021, the company reported that "New Mexico's top growth city [was] Las Cruces. Other notable net-gain cities [included] Taos, Santa Fe, Alamogordo, and Farmington."

"It's not a surprise that the Land of Enchantment has become a growth state," said Tom Neill, U-Haul Area District Vice President, in 2021; he oversees operations throughout New Mexico. "New Mexico attracts new residents from all over the country. We have beautiful landscape and a rich history. The quality of life is appealing. New Mexico offers a low cost of living and ample space to grow. People are able to afford large properties."

Nationally, Texas was ranked as the #1 state in growth in 2022; this was the fifth time this state secured the top ranking since 2016, according to U-Haul. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia rounded out the top five growth states in 2022.

The company stated that in 2022, "California ranked 50th and Illinois ranked 49th for the third year in a row, indicating those states saw the largest net losses of one-way U-Haul trucks."

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