PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In 2022, many people packed up their belongings and flocked to Oregon for new beginnings. According to a new study, Oregon was actually the second most popular state to relocate to last year.
On Monday, moving services company United Van Lines shared its 46th Annual National Movers Study. The company used its customer data to determine which U.S. states were the top moving destinations in 2022.
Data reveals that Oregon was the second most popular state to move to, with 67% inbound moves last year. It moved up six spots from its No. 8 ranking in the 2021 edition of the study.
The Beaver State was ranked just after Vermont at No. 1, and before Rhode Island at No. 3. South Carolina, Delaware and Alabama were among the other states that many people settled in last year.
United Van Lines says that four of the top 10 states, Oregon included, are some of the least densely populated states in the U.S. — with an average of less than 100 people for each square mile.
The company also ranked the metropolitan areas with the biggest inbound move percentages in 2022. The Eugene-Springfield area ranked at No. 9 with 69% inbound residents, while the Portland and Vancouver area ranked at No. 17 with 65% inbound residents.
Economist and University of California, Los Angeles professor Michael Stoll cites retirement, the desire to be closer to family and lifestyle changes as the most common reasons to move.
“The United Van Lines study encompasses data that Americans are now moving from bigger to smaller cities, mostly in the South, some in the West, but even an increase of migration to the Northeast, which has not been typical,” Stoll said in the release. “We’re also seeing younger millennials migrating to vibrant, metropolitan economies, like Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon.”
Young millennials may be more likely to move to “metropolitan economies”, but United Van Lines’ survey determined that Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers moved more than any other age demographic. The company reports that those over the age of 55 made up more than 55% of United Van Lines’ state-to-state moves last year.
According to the moving company, California, New York and Michigan were among the states with the most outbound moves.