Where did Illinois transplants move from last year? Here's what U-Haul says

Where do Illinois residents move when they bid farewell to the Prairie State? Many stick to the Midwest, according to an end-of-year report by U-Haul, which examined the states its customers fled or flocked to most in 2025.

Both Indiana and Wisconsin welcomed Illinois residents in droves, and vice versa, a spokesperson for U-Haul said.

Overall, Texas and Florida dominated at the top of U-Haul's annual growth index for 2025, the company announced, while California came in dead last for the sixth consecutive year.

While U-Haul cautioned its rankings do not directly correlate to population or economic growth, the annual index can be used, it argued, as a gauge for how attractive or unappealing certain metros are for prospective residents.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 13: U-Haul trucks sit at one of the company's rental facilities on December 13, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

How does U-Haul rank states for growth?

To create its annual rankings, U-Haul examined data from more than 2.5 million customer transactions spread across 24,000 rental locations in the United States and Canada. The company logged the number of customers who rented one-way trucks, trailers, or U-Box containers and the state those same customers dropped the equipment off.

How did Illinois do in U-Haul's 2025 growth report?

Illinois is not a top-tier destination for relocating Americans, to say the least.

According to U-Haul's national growth report, the Prairie State ranked almost all the way at the bottom of the 50-state index at No. 49. It slipped four spots from the previous year when it scored forty-fifth in the nation.

Neighboring states such as Kentucky landed at No. 17, according to U-Haul, with Indiana and Ohio at 25 and 43, respectively.

Are more people leaving Illinois than are entering?

Though there's no dramatic mass exodus, U-Haul growth data shows Illinois had slightly more loss than growth in 2025.

U-Haul customers who dropped off their moving equipment in Illinois accounted for 48.9% of the company's one-way traffic into the state last year, while 51.1% of all total traffic left, according to the growth index.

In a separate news release, not one Illinois city made the list of U-Haul's top 25 growth metros for 2025, in which Dallas, Houston and Austin ranked highest among its one-way customers.

Where do most Illinois residents go when they leave?

The top destinations for U-Haul's one-way customers leaving Illinois last year, according to a company spokesperson, are as follows:

1. Indiana
2. Wisconsin
3. Missouri
4. Michigan
5. Florida
6. Texas
7. Iowa
8. Tennessee
9. Ohio
10. Minnesota
11. Colorado
12. Georgia
13. North Carolina
14. Kentucky
15. Arizona

Which states are people moving to Illinois from?

The top origin states for one-way U-Haul customers coming to Illinois appear to resemble the destination states from 2025:

1. Indiana
2. Wisconsin
3. Missouri
4. Michigan
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. Ohio
8. Iowa
9. Tennessee
10. Minnesota
11. Colorado
12. Kentucky
13. Georgia
14. North Carolina
15. Pennsylvania

Which Illinois cities are U-Haul customers moving to?

U-Haul reports its one-way customers dropped off equipment the most in the following Illinois cities, which the company listed in alphabetical order:

1. Antioch
2. Arlington Heights
3. Carbondale
4. Champaign
5. Cicero
6. DeKalb
7. Effingham
8. Lincolnshire
9. Lombard
10. Morton
11. Naperville
12. New Lenox
13. Park Forest
14. Plainfield
15. Pekin
16. Peoria
17. Rockford
18. Sycamore
19. Troy