Gen Z is defying trends and betting on California—even as older Americans flee to the Sun Belt

California has been shrinking for the past half-decade.

The state’s population fell 0.5% between April 2020 and July 2025, according to the U.S.

Census Bureau .

It also posted the largest net loss of one-way U-Haul customers of any state for the sixth straight year in the company’s 2025 Growth Index .

Yet the country’s youngest adults keep packing up and heading for the Golden State.

U-Haul’s 2026 Midyear Migration Trends National Report ranks states and metros by their net gain of one-way U-Haul trucks, trailers, and U-Box containers from July 2025 through June 2026.

It puts California at No.

2 for Gen Z (born 1997–2012), behind only Texas.

As Fortune previously reported , the state didn’t crack the top 10 for boomers or Gen X, whose moves skewed heavily toward the Southeast.

San Diego, at No.

9 for Gen X, was the only California metro on either older generation’s list.

Millennials ranked California No.

3, behind Florida and Texas.

Gen Z hasn’t given up on the Sun Belt.