The average American moves about 12 times in their life, and if any of those moves happened in the past three years, there’s a good chance that it was to Oregon, believe it or not.
According to a study of 123,000 moves from United Van Lines, Oregon was the top moving destination in 2015 for the third year in a row with almost 70% of interstate moves going to Oregon. The state is so popular, in fact, that the number of people moving to the Beaver State has increased 10% in the past six years.
“For nearly 40 years, we’ve been tracking which states people are moving to and from, and we’ve also recently started surveying our customers to understand why they are making these moves across state lines,” said Melissa Sullivan, director of marketing communications at United Van Lines. “Because of United Van Lines’ position as the nation’s largest household goods mover, our data is reflective of national migration trends.”
United Van Lines found that five of the 10 states with the most incoming movers are west of the Mississippi. While the tech boom has played a large role in the trend, it’s not the only thing drawing people out there.
“This year’s data reflects longer-term trends of people moving to the Pacific West, where cities such as Portland and Seattle are seeing the combination of a boom in the technology and creative marketing industry, as well as a growing ‘want’ for outdoor activity and green space,” said the University of California’s Department of Public Policy chair, Michael Stoll. “The aging Boomer population is driving relocation from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and South, as more and more people retire to warmer regions.”
However, finding a place to live in Portland, Oregon’s biggest city, isn’t as cheap as it used to be. Home prices have increased nearly 11% in October from the same time last year.
Then again, Oregon isn’t the only place people heading to. The South was also a popular moving destination last year, with South Carolina ranking second in the study.