Chicago - Texas is the top destination for U.S. moves, reports Allied Van Lines. In its annual Allied Van Lines Magnet States Report, Texas was the number one relocation target - the company brought 2,558 families there in 2015.

Home remodelers, cabinet makers and closets firms are seeing business blossom with the housing recovery - especially in the top five magnet states to which people are moving. Also driving business: remodeling for homes left behind, either as fix up for sale or to prepare for the new resident. 

Allied's report, which uses internal data to track U.S. migration patterns, marked Texas' net relocation gain of 2,558 families in 2015.  This net gain is calculated by the difference between inbound moves and outbound moves performed by Allied Van Lines, one of the world's largest moving companies.

"Texas continues to be a strong attractive state," said Lesli Bertoli, general manager and vice president of Allied Van Lines.  "Corporate moves continue to influence these results, with corporate relocations strongly favoring moves to Texas in 2015."

Florida also continued its trend of attraction as the second most magnetic state with 1,611 net inbound moves in 2015, slightly down from its 1,751 net inbound moves in 2014.

Rounding out the top five magnet states in 2015 are Arizona (no. 3), Oregon (no. 4) and South Carolina (no. 5).

Biggest Changes in Movers in 2015

California once again topped the list as the Most Mobile State, with more than 12,000 moves conducted by Allied Van Lines that featured California as its departure or destination state. But 2015 saw a sharp change in magnet status, as California dropped from 15th most inbound state in 2014 down to the 7th most outbound state.

Other states with big changes on the list included Ohio, which regained a place on the inbound side by moving up from the 9th most outbound state in 2014 to the 15th most inbound, and Louisiana, which moved from a neutral state in 2015 to the 16th most outbound state.

Outbound States People Are Moving From

Allied's 2015 Magnet States data shows Virginia as the state with the greatest net outbound moves, with 1,343 moves out of state.  This makes Virginia a newcomer to the top 5 outbound states, which had been the same five states (though in varying order) since 2010.   Illinois moves to the 2nd most outbound state (1,240 net outbound moves), followed by Pennsylvania (949 net outbound moves). New York (814 net outbound moves) and New Jersey (775 net outbound moves).  For the first time in a decade, Michigan has escaped the top five outbound states list, coming in as the 6th most outbound state.

Canadians on the Move

Canadian province British Columbia again retains the top spot on the list of Magnet Provinces for 2015, and Ontario experienced the largest net loss of moves, making it the number one outbound province.