Oregon experienced the highest percentage of inbound movers in the nation last year, according to a new survey, another sign the state’s population slowdown may be coming to an end.
Interstate hauler United Van Lines released its annual moving survey that shows migration patterns across the U.S.
Oregon topped the list for share of inbound movers, with 64.5% of those who moved coming into the state and 35.5% moving out. A year ago, the Beaver State sat at No. 8 for inbound rankings, with 57.9% moving in and 42.1% moving out. (New Jersey ranked highest for outbound moves for the eighth year straight, according to United Van Lines, as 62.3% of those who moved were leaving the Garden State.)
United Van Lines drew from more than 100,000 shipments to conduct the nationwide survey, according to a spokesperson. In Oregon, the study covered approximately 2,000 shipments and survey respondents.
The spokesperson, Eily Cummings, noted that 22% of respondents who moved into Oregon arrived from California, a share she characterized as “extremely high” for the survey. Other big sources of in-migrants were Washington and Colorado, she said.
It’s another data point that potentially aligns in the state’s favor after new figures showed thousands more people had begun exchanging their out-of-state driver licenses for new Oregon licenses starting last summer.
Population growth is core to Oregon’s economic health. A low birth rate and aging population mean Oregon leans on its working-age in-migrants to shop, pay taxes and bolster the state’s labor force.
But the state’s population has been on a knife-edge since the pandemic as the tsunami of young professionals who flooded into Oregon during the 2010s slowed. The numbers are so tight that the two big population forecasters — the U.S. Census Bureau and Portland State University — have at times disagreed on whether Oregon lost or gained residents.
In their most recent estimates, both agreed that Oregon has added residents in at least the past two years. The Census Bureau still contends Oregon lost population from 2021 to 2022. But in 2024, its data shows Oregon gained just over 18,700 residents for a total population of 4.27 million.
The 2030 Census will also determine whether Oregon keeps the sixth congressional seat it won in 2020. Stagnant population growth here could see other states with faster growth pick up the seat.
