Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Has Helped U-Haul by Driving Companies and People to Texas

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s policies are giving the moving industry a major boost—especially U-Haul. While Texas surges as the top destination for people and businesses, Illinois continues to bleed residents, jobs, and tax revenue. A recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece highlights how high taxes, heavy regulation, and aggressive climate mandates like the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) are pushing companies—and even heavy energy infrastructure—out of the state and straight to Texas.

People Are Voting with Their U-Haul Trucks

U-Haul’s 2025 Growth Index ranked Texas No. 1 for in-migration for the seventh time in 10 years, with Dallas, Houston, and Austin dominating the top metros. Illinois ranked near the bottom (49th out of 50), with more one-way trucks leaving than arriving.

Other movers confirm the trend: United Van Lines reported Illinois dropped from No. 2 in outbound moves in 2024 to No. 9 in 2025, but still showed net losses.
Atlas Van Lines and Allied Van Lines both ranked Illinois as a top outbound state in 2025 (54% and 58% of moves leaving, respectively).
U.S. Census data for 2024 showed a net loss of 82,900 residents, with 95% heading to lower-tax states. In the year ending June 2025, domestic out-migration continued at over 40,000 despite some international inflows.

Texas is a favorite destination for Illinoisans fleeing high property taxes, income taxes, and the cost of living.

Businesses Are Following—Including Major Energy Assets

It’s not just people. Illinois lost 218 businesses to other states in 2023 alone—triple the pre-pandemic annual average—and peaked at 260 losses in 2022. From 1994–2023, the state lost a cumulative 2,616 businesses on net. When adjusted for population, Illinois ranked second-worst in the nation for business outflow.

High-profile relocations to Texas include: Caterpillar moved its global headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Irving, Texas, in 2022 (approximately 230–240 high-paying HQ jobs). Manufacturing operations largely remained in Illinois, but the corporate move signaled broader frustration with the state’s business climate.

PEAK6 Investments relocated its headquarters from Chicago to Austin, Texas, effective January 2025.
The New York Stock Exchange moved its Chicago equities exchange operations to Texas in 2025.
Other notable exits or partial moves include finance firms like Citadel (to Florida, with ripple effects) and additional relocations tracked by Texas officials.

Energy sector hit hard: In a striking example detailed in the Wall Street Journal and Chicago Tribune, the owner of the massive Elwood Energy peaker plant in Will County (a 1,350 MW natural-gas facility) is literally loading up and moving 900 MW of capacity (two-thirds of the plant) to Texas. Hull Street Energy cited Pritzker’s CEJA climate law, which imposes strict shutdown deadlines on private gas plants. The turbines are being trucked south, directly benefiting moving companies like U-Haul. The remaining units were sold to a nonprofit to keep operating longer. Critics warn that this capacity loss will drive up electricity bills for Illinois families and businesses.

Texas, by contrast, welcomed major energy and corporate relocations, including Chevron’s headquarters move and hundreds of other firms. State data show Texas gained over 300 corporate headquarters in recent years, many from high-tax states like Illinois.

The Economic Toll: Jobs, Tax Revenue, and Growth at Risk

Outmigration is eroding Illinois’ tax base. IRS data for 2023 alone showed a net loss of roughly 56,000 residents and $6 billion in adjusted gross income (AGI). Cumulative AGI losses since 2000 exceed $94 billion. At Illinois’ flat 4.95% personal income tax rate, these figures translate to hundreds of millions in annual state income tax revenue lost—plus property, sales, and other taxes that follow high earners and businesses out of state.

Moody’s Analytics projects Illinois will lose an additional 600,000 residents by 2033, compounding an aging workforce and sluggish job growth. The state already underperforms the Midwest and the U.S. in employment and income gains, with persistent outmigration cited as a major drag. Each lost business and high-income resident means fewer dollars for schools, infrastructure, and services—leaving those who remain to shoulder a heavier burden.

While Governor Pritzker’s office touts Illinois ranking No. 2 nationally in corporate expansions and relocations (per some trackers) and a $1.2 trillion economy, the net losses in headquarters, high-value jobs, and energy capacity tell a different story. Critics point to high taxes, regulatory burdens, pension debt, and CEJA’s impact on reliable energy as key drivers pushing companies toward Texas’s lower-tax, pro-business environment.

U-Haul’s Unintended Beneficiary

Governor Pritzker may not intend to boost U-Haul’s bottom line, but the data show his administration’s policies are doing exactly that. As Texas booms and Illinois struggles with outmigration, one-way truck rentals from the Prairie State to the Lone Star State keep rolling. The real question is whether Springfield will address the root causes—tax competitiveness, regulatory relief, and energy policy—or continue watching the moving vans head south.

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