ST. LOUIS (AP) - Tracking statistics from the moving company United Van Lines indicate that Americans are still heading west, while parts of the Northeast and Midwest are losing people. The suburban St. Louis-based moving company on Tuesday released its 41st annual National Movers Study, which tracks customers' state-to-state migration patterns.
Three of the top four destination states are in the West: Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. The outlier is Vermont, a Northeast state that had the highest percentage of inbound migration in 2017. About 68 percent of state-to-state moves in Vermont were inbound last year.
At the other end of the spectrum is Illinois, which had the highest percent of outbound moves, followed by New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Kansas.
“This year’s data reflects longer-term trends of movement to the western and southern 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,” said Michael Stoll, economist and professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We’re also seeing continued migration to the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West as young professionals and retirees leave California.”