U-Haul moving rates shine a light on out-migration
Illinois has a domestic migration problem. The state is losing too many people. Illinois has lost more people to other states than it gained in every single year since 1985 . And in every year, the people who left earned more money than the people who entered. The Internal Revenue Service released new migration data...
Illinois has a domestic migration problem.
The state is losing too many people. Illinois has lost more people to other states than it gained in every single year since 1985 . And in every year, the people who left earned more money than the people who entered.
The Internal Revenue Service released new migration data two weeks ago. It showed that Illinoisans continued to flee the state in 2010. Texas was the top destination.
Signs of the demand to leave Illinois show up in curious places. One-way U-Haul rental prices is one example. These prices reflect the relative demand to rent moving trucks to move between two cities, and provide a live gauge of Illinois’ out-migration crisis.
As an example, rentals between Chicago and Indianapolis shows that there is more demand to leave Chicago for Indianapolis than to leave Indianapolis for Chicago. That demand is reflected in a higher price to drive a U-haul truck from Chicago to Indianapolis than vice-versa.
It costs twice as much to drive a large U-Haul truck from Chicago to Indianapolis.
The price differences are more significant between Chicago and Sun-Belt cities that have a more favorable business and tax environment. One example is Atlanta. The price to move from Chicago to Atlanta is nearly four times the price to move in the opposite direction.
Chicago doesn’t lose the moving war with every city, though. Like Chicago, Los Angeles struggles with debt, pensions, and joblessness, and has a terrible business climate. Chicago has a slight edge on Los Angeles.
The most extreme price difference is for moves between Chicago and the cities of Texas. For large truck sizes, it is more than four times more expensive to leave Chicago for Austin than to go in the opposite direction.
Illinoisans deserve better from their state government, and should not be satisfied until the out-migration crisis ends. We will know that has happened when these one-way prices are the same for travel in both directions.
People once stampeded into Illinois in search of opportunity. Now, the opposite happens.
In a Gallup poll, people who plan to leave Illinois made clear their top reason why. They want a state that has more work and business opportunities.
Illinois has tremendous natural advantages as a business, transportation and agricultural hub. The state needs to leverage those advantages by adopting the low-tax, low-regulation policies of the current destination states.