U-Haul 2016 Growth State No. 10: ARKANSAS
PHOENIX and LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Jan. 23, 2017 -- Arkansas is the No. 10 U.S. Growth State for 2016, according to the latest U-Haul migration trends report.
Arkansas maintained its top-10 status by essentially duplicating its one-way U-Haul truck arrival and departure transactions from 2015, when it earned the No. 8 ranking on this list.
Arrivals accounted for 50.6 percent of U-Haul traffic in Arkansas in 2016 thanks to locations such as Hot Springs Village, Fayetteville, Bella Vista, Centerton and Bentonville, the cities to pace Arkansas in its net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks.
Follow the Top 10 Growth States daily countdown through Feb. 3 on Twitter @uhaul and view other migration trends reports, including the U.S. Growth Cities release, at myuhaulstory.com.
Growth States are calculated by the net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering a state versus leaving a state during a calendar year. Migration trends data is compiled from more than 1.7 million one-way U-Haul truck rental transactions that occur annually.
While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well cities are attracting and maintaining residents.
"Northwest Arkansas is growing by leaps and bounds," said U-Haul Company of Tulsa president Jim Smith, whose area includes the northwest corner of Arkansas. "I call it God's Country. You have Wal-Mart®, Tyson® Foods, the University of Arkansas, J.B. Hunt® Transport Services … all the major employers are based out of the Northwest Arkansas region.
"Last I read, the northwest region was growing by 30 residents a day. I can see that because of the inbound activity of U-Haul trucks per day. The region's overall population has grown nearly 70 percent in the last 15 years."
U-Haul has stores in Springdale and Rogers (opened August 2015) and added roughly 20 new neighborhood dealers over the past two years to serve the northwest region.
But the Company's reach is growing across Arkansas to make moving services more convenient for everyone.
"We have new stores in Pine Bluff, Little Rock and Texarkana, which is on the border and will serve Arkansas customers with more self-storage units," said Ken Vadnais, U-Haul Company of Arkansas president.
Find U-Haul stores and neighborhood dealers in Arkansas at uhaul.com/locations.
U-Haul is the authority on migration trends thanks to its expansive network that blankets all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. The geographical coverage from more than 21,000 U-Haul locations, including neighborhood dealers and Company-owned and -operated stores, provides a comprehensive overview of where people are moving like no one else in the industry.
About U-Haul
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 139,000 trucks, 108,000 trailers and 38,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 536,000 rooms and more than 50 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. www.uhaul.com
Contact
Jeff Lockridge
Sebastien Reyes
E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com
Phone: 602-760-4941
Website: uhaul.com
SOURCE U-Haul
