By: Jenna Beresheim
News Editor
On Jan. 2, the United Van Lines’ 38th Annual National Movers Study reported their 2014 results concluded Oregon as the top moved-to destination in the country.
66 percent of recorded moves from both in and out of the state were inbound, resulting in a 5 percent increase of inbound moves since 2013.
The top ten inbound states, from most to least, were as follows: Oregon, South Carolina, North Carolina, Vermont, Florida, Nevada, Texas, District of Columbia, Oklahoma, and Idaho.
“We’ve been tracking the number of inbound and outbound domestic moves for nearly four decades, and through our data are able to identify the most and least popular states for residential relocation year after year,” stated Melissa Sullivan, the director of Marketing Communications at United Van Lines on their website.
“This year we also surveyed customers to determine why they were relocating,” said Sullivan.
38 percent of new moves to Oregon were reported to be for a new job, while 29 percent were reported for retirement purposes.
“Oregon is gaining both older and younger people,” reports Michael Stoll, chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, in a contribution to Forbes magazine.
“It has walkable neighborhoods, public transit, cool places to eat. It’s a big magnet for young people who want that kind of lifestyle,” continues Stoll.
However, the thing Oregon may not have for the younger generation is jobs.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oregon’s unemployment rate is at 5.7 percent as of November 2015, 0.2 percent above the national average.
California shares a similar unemployment rate with California, so some people could be moving north due to Oregon’s lower cost of living.
On the other end of the spectrum, the most outbound moves from states from most to least were: New Jersey, New York, Illinois, North Dakota, West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
Speculations about these moves focus on the higher rate of living in these areas, with New York charging an average of $3,000 for a one-bedroom in the city. That is triple the national reported average of $1,100, according to Daily News.
Illinois has lost a third of its manufacturing jobs and a quarter of its construction work, resulting in more unemployment and less desirability for prospective movers.
Stoll predicts that in upcoming years, New Mexico and California will begin to see more of an improvement to their inbound moves.
“With economic stability growing nationally, the current migration patterns reflect longer-term trends of movement to the southern and western states, especially to those where housing costs are relatively lower, climates are more temperate and job growth has been at or above the national average, among other factors,” concludes Stoll.
