A midyear migration trend report from U-Haul revealed where Americans from various generations are moving in 2026, with North Carolina emerging as one of the top destinations for several groups.
The report, based on 52 weeks of U-Haul customer moves from July 2025 to June 2026, found that Baby Boomers are particularly drawn to the Carolinas, with six of the top seven states for net gains among the generation located in the Southeast. The findings also show different migration patterns among younger generations, with Gen X and Millennials favoring states including Florida and Texas, while Gen Z is increasingly moving to highly populated states such as Texas, California and New York.
U-Haul's data ranks states based on the net gain or loss of one-way
moving equipment, including trucks, trailers and U-Box moving containers. So, what does the latest U-Haul data show about where people are moving in and out of North Carolina?
Here's what we know as of the July 2026 report.
Are people moving to North Carolina?
According to the U-Haul midyear migration report for 2025-2026, Wilmington was a top metro area for migration among both Gen X and Baby Boomers, placing No. 7 and 10 on respective lists. Charlotte placed No. 7 on the list as a migration area for Gen Z. North Carolina in general was a top state for migration in Gen X and Baby Boomers, placing No. 8 and 2, respectively.
In 2025, North Carolina ranked No. 3 for overall growth according to U-Haul reports, with in-migration at 50.7% and out-migration at 49.3%. Its leading growth city was Garner, which placed at No. 22 countrywide, and its leading metro areas were Charlotte at No. 4 and Raleigh at No. 8.
Where are Gen Z's moving to in the U.S. in 2026?
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain metro areas for Gen Z in 2025-2026 according to the midyear migration report, included New York City at No. 1; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, at No. 2; Chicago at No. 3; San Francisco Bay Area, California, at No. 4; Los Angeles, Cali. at No. 5; Austin, Texas, at No. 6; Charlotte at No. 7; Denver, Colorado, at No. 8; Seattle, Washington, at No. 9; and Houston, Texas at No. 10.
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain states for Gen Z in 2025-2026 according to the midyear migration report included Texas at No. 1, California at No. 2, New York at No. 3, Illinois at No. 4, Colorado at No. 5, Washington at No. 6, New Jersey at No. 7, Florida at No. 8, Pennsylvania at No. 9 and Nevada at No. 10.
Where are Millennials moving in the U.S. in 2026?
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain metro areas for Millennials in 2025-2026 according to the midyear migration report included Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, at No. 1; Houston, Texas, at No. 2; Orlando, Florida, at No. 3; San Francisco Bay Area, Cali., at No. 4; North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., at No. 5; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., at No. 6; Boise, Idaho, at No. 7; Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla., at No. 8; Brownsville-McAllen, Texas, at No. 9; and Huntsville, Alabama, at No. 10.
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain states for Millennials in 2025-2026, according to the midyear migration report, included Florida at No. 1, Texas at No. 2, California at No. 3, Ohio at No. 4, Idaho at No. 5, Indiana at No. 6, Minnesota at No. 7, Wisconsin at No. 8, Washington at No. 9 and Virginia at No. 10.
Where are Gen X moving to in the U.S. in 2026?
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain metro areas for Gen X in 2025-2026 according to the midyear migration report included Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 1; Charleston, South Carolina, at No. 2; North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla., at No. 3; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla., at No. 4; Nashville, Tennessee, at No. 5; Salt Lake City, Utah, at No. 6; Wilmington at No. 7; Tampa, Fla., at No. 8; San Diego, Cali., at No. 9; and Gainesville-Ocala, Fla., at No. 10.
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain states for Gen X in 2025-2026 according to the midyear migration report included Florida at No. 1, Texas at No. 2, South Carolina at No. 3, Tennessee at No. 4, Alabama at No. 5, Utah at No. 6, Idaho at No. 7, North Carolina at No. 8, Arizona at No. 9 and Arkansas at No. 10.
Where are Baby Boomers moving in the U.S. in 2026?
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain metro areas for Baby Boomers in 2025-2026 according to the midyear migration report included Gainesville-Ocala, Fla., at No. 1; Myrtle Beach, S.C., at No. 2; Phoenix, Arizona, at No. 3; Charleston, S.C. at No. 4; Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Az., at No. 5; Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Ala., at No. 6; Spokane, Was., at No. 7; Tucson, Az., at No. 8; Daytona Beach, Fla., at No. 9; and Wilmington at No. 10.
U-Haul's top 10 net-gain states for Baby Boomers in 2025-2026, according to the midyear migration report, included South Carolina at No. 1, North Carolina at No. 2, Florida at No. 3, Arizona at No. 4, Alabama at No. 5, Tennessee at No. 6, Arkansas at No. 7, Idaho at No. 8, Oklahoma at No. 9 and Georgia at No. 10.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: U-Haul report shows NC is a top place to move for these generations
