Older adults are choosing to move to Arizona more than younger adults, according to migration trends data released by U-Haul.
The company uses its rental data to track one-way trips to determine the states and cities where people are moving, and which are the top net-gain places. This study, released July 29, used 52 weeks of company data from mid-2025 to mid-2026.
Arizona was the fourth highest net-gain state for Baby Boomers, and ninth highest for Generation X. The state did not crack the top 10 for Millennials or Generation Z.
The top three destination states for Boomers were South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida.
Gen X opted for Florida, Texas and South Carolina.
For Millennials, Florida, Texas and California were the top three destinations,
and for Gen Z, Texas, California and New York were the top three.
Three Arizona metros: Phoenix, Lake Havasu and Tucson, were among the top net-gain cities for Boomers. No Arizona cities ranked in the top 10 among other generations.
Millennials accounted for the largest share of one-way U-Haul rentals, followed by Gen X, according to U-Haul. Those two groups combined totaled more than 60% of the transactions tracked.
Gen Z, which includes people born from 1997 to 2012, includes some people who are still minors and likely not moving states on their own yet.
As for older adults leaving Phoenix, many are still staying in Arizona. For Boomers, three of the top five net-gain metros of people leaving Phoenix were Tucson, Flagstaff and Prescott. For Gen X, Flagstaff, Tucson and Prescott were all among the top five.
For Millennials, Flagstaff was the top net-gain metro for people leaving Phoenix, but no other Arizona cities ranked in the top five. For Gen Z, the only Arizona city to crack the top five was Yuma.
Corina Vanek covers development for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @CorinaVanek.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Older adults moving to Arizona more than others, U-Haul data shows
