Report: More People Are Moving To Oregon Than Leaving

By Meerah Powell (OPB)
May 4, 2019 6:34 p.m.

A report from the Oregon Employment Department shows that from 2013 to 2017, more people have moved to Oregon than have left.

Although Oregon saw migration flow between every state in the nation, it was mostly between nearby western states. Oregon also saw an influx of people from specific career industries.

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Oregon gains the most residents from California. On average, 39,320 Californians move to Oregon annually. But an average of 19,523 Oregonians also make the move south, leaving Oregon with a net gain of 19,797 new residents from California every year.

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The state with the second-highest net "in-migration" number (the difference between people moving from a state and Oregonians leaving for that same state) is Hawaii.

Oregon saw a net gain of more than 2,000 people from Hawaii per year in that five-year period.

In the Northwest, Oregon loses the most residents to Washington. The report says the Evergreen State gains a net in-migration of nearly 4,000 Oregonians annually who may be in search of lower housing costs.

As for people with different professional backgrounds, Oregon sees the highest net amount of people moving to the state for food preparation and serving jobs, closely followed by sales and retail jobs.

The military is the only occupational group that sees more people leaving the state than arriving.

Oregon lost more than 900 military employees per year in that period.

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