iN NUMBERS: Kelowna, Salmon Arm climbing U-Haul’s top growing cities list

The U-Haul index might not be top of mind when it comes to tracking population growth, but the company tracks one-way rentals to see which cities are popular destinations for people moving to a new home. It’s not a perfect nor an exact metric, but it gives a good idea of which cities are trending.

U-Haul put Salmon Arm on the same list as Calgary, Kelowna and Montreal, so take this information with a grain of salt.

Here are the numbers:

• 2: Was B.C.’s rank as a moving destination. Alberta was number one.
• 50.6: Per cent of one-way U-Haul rentals were arriving in BC rather than leaving. Alberta beat us by 0.2 per cent.
• 10: Was Ontario’s rank for growth, which was dead last out of all the provinces, take that Ontario.
• 3: Was Manitoba’s rank for growth in 2025, up from 8 in 2024.
• 7: Of the top 25 growth cities were in BC in 2025 including Victoria, Kelowna, Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver, Salmon Arm and Sidney.
• 6: Was Kelowna’s rank on U-Haul’s top growth cities for 2025. It ranked higher than Vancouver, but lower than Victoria.
• 23: Was Kelowna’s rank on U-Haul’s top growth Canadian cities for 2024.
• 16: Was Salmon Arm’s rank on U-Haul’s top growth cities for 2025. It wasn’t even on the list in 2024.
• 51.4: Per cent of Kelowna’s one-way U-Haul rentals were coming into the city.
• 12: Per cent is the increase in arrivals to Kelowna in 2025 compared to 2024.
• 53.2: Per cent of Salmon Arm’s one-way U-Haul rentals were coming into the city.
• 59: Per cent was the increase in arrivals in Salmon Arm in 2025 compared to 2024.