The Washington Post editorial cited U-Haul’s 2025 Growth Index — based on over 2.5 million one-way truck rentals — to argue that many Americans are leaving California for lower-tax, pro-growth states. Texas topped the index for the seventh time in a decade, with Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee also among the leaders. California ranked last, and the Post linked migration patterns to state policy choices while acknowledging the index is an imperfect proxy for population change. The editorial cited Larry Ellison’s reported San Francisco home sale as an example of tax-driven relocation.
Washington Post: U‑Haul Data Shows Residents Leaving California For 'Pro‑Growth' States — Editorial Says Decline Is A Choice
A container ship sails beneath the Golden Gate Bridge as it makes its way into port in San Francisco, California, on Jan. 26, 2009.
The Washington Post editorial board used U-Haul’s 2025 Growth Index to argue that Americans from a broad range of incomes are leaving California for lower-tax, pro-growth states. The editorial draws on U-Haul’s one-way rental data — more than 2.5 million transactions — to identify which states and metropolitan areas are gaining and losing residents.
Key Findings From U-Haul’s 2025 Growth Index
Top Growth States: Texas claimed the top spot for the seventh time in the past decade, followed by Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. According to the Post, nine of the top 10 growth states voted for the Republican ticket in the most recent presidential election.
States Losing Residents: California ranked last on the 2025 index. The bottom five list included Massachusetts, New York, Illinois and New Jersey. Of the ten states with the largest net losses on the index, seven voted for the Democratic ticket in the last presidential election.
The Washington Post editorial board said that "decline is a choice," and that California's policies have driven up the cost of living for residents.
Metro Patterns: The Post pointed out that the fastest-growing metropolitan areas were Dallas, Houston and Austin — all in Texas — and that the top 10 growth cities were located in Florida, South Carolina and Texas.
"The rankings are a reminder that decline is a choice, and that policies which drive up the cost of living, empower union bosses at the expense of workers and otherwise make it harder for entrepreneurs to thrive wind up leading to dire consequences, including less money to support generous welfare states," the editorial board wrote.
Context, Caveats and an Example
The Post acknowledged that U-Haul’s index does not perfectly mirror official population or economic growth statistics. One-way truck rental patterns are an informative proxy for migration but are not a comprehensive measure of demographic change.
As an illustrative example of tax-driven relocation, the editorial cited reports that Oracle founder Larry Ellison sold his longtime San Francisco mansion in December for about $45 million. The move was framed as a response to a proposed California wealth tax backed by unions that would, if approved, levy 5% of the net worth of each billionaire who resides in the state as of Dec. 31, 2025. The Post estimated that Ellison’s liability if he had remained could have been roughly $9.6 billion — a figure the paper noted is coincidentally similar to U-Haul’s market capitalization.
Bottom Line: The Washington Post editorial uses U-Haul’s large dataset to argue that state tax and policy choices matter for migration patterns, while also noting the index’s limitations as a perfect population metric.
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