Alabama is one of several southern states seeing more people moving in, according to transportation company U-Haul.

The company’s annual Growth Index is out, and Alabama placed 16th among the states, rising six spots from its 2023 ranking. The Yellowhammer State place behind Georgia and just ahead of Virginia.

U-Haul uses its one-way consumer transactions as a means of tracking where people are moving in the U.S. and at what rate. It looks at net gain or loss of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box portable moving container transactions in the U.S. and Canada.

South Carolina climbed three places in the rankings to the top spot.

Texas, which had led the survey since 2021, fell to second. The Lone Star State has ranked in the top two each year since 2016. while Florida has been fourth or higher every year since 2015.

California ranked dead last for the fifth year in a row.

Alabama’s estimated population last year was 5.15 million, up from 5 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Last year, the state had the 15th fastest rate of growth in the U.S., but still trailed neighbors such as Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

According to U-Haul, Alabama has been a net-gain state, with more one-way U-Haul arrivals than departures, each of the past three years, and five of the last six years.

Alabama’s notable leading growth cities include Alabaster, Athens, Alexander City, Auburn, Birmingham, Chelsea, Cullman, Daphne, Decatur, Elberta, Fairhope, Foley, Gadsden, Hoover, Huntsville, Prattville, Robertsdale, Scottsboro, Troy and Tuscaloosa.

Doug Weston, U-Haul area district vice president, said the company continues to see massive growth in north Alabama, particularly connected to NASA in Huntsville. The amount of growth has inspired U-Haul to locate four new stores in the Rocket City metro area.

“The tech world is also migrating to Alabama, which has led to more scientists and engineers in the state,” Weston said. “There are new home developments throughout the state, so Alabama’s positive growth ranking doesn’t surprise me. Housing also tends to be very affordable, and Alabama is a beautiful place to live.”

The company says U-Haul customers coming to Alabama accounted for 50.2% of all one-way traffic in and out of the state, with 49.8% being departures.

Looking at year-over-year changes, U-Haul arrivals into Alabama fell 1% while departures fell 2% in 2024.