Study: R.I. gained same number of new residents as those who moved out

PROVIDENCE – In 2014, the Northeast continued to lose residents for the third consecutive year, but Rhode Island gained approximately the same number of residents as those who moved out, according to United Van Lines’ 38th annual National Movers Study.

Rhode Island, with 892 total shipments, had 441 to the state and 451 from the state, ranking it No. 22, for 50 percent of moves to the state. New Hampshire, ranking No. 23, experienced the same pattern with 1,122 total shipments – 574 leaving the state and 548 moving in.
Oregon, however, ranked No. 1 with 66 percent of moves to the state, or 2,738 out of 4,121. Second on the list was South Carolina, with 61 percent of inbound moves, followed closely by North Carolina, with 60.5 percent. Vermont ranked fourth at 59.4 percent, and Florida, fifth, at 58.9 percent.
The study tracks customers’ migration patterns state-to-state during the course of the past year.
It said the Northeast is experiencing a moving deficit with New Jersey (65 percent outbound), New York (64 percent), and Connecticut (57 percent), making the list of top outbound states for the third consecutive year. New Jersey was No. 1 in that category, New York, No. 2, and Connecticut, No. 10.
In another survey of its customers, United Van Lines found the Northeast region had the highest number of people leaving for retirement. The Mountain West had the highest number of retirees moving to the region, with nearly one in three individuals surveyed saying they moved there to retire.
“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. This year we also surveyed customers to determine why they were relocating,” Melissa Sullivan, director of marketing communications at United Van Lines, said in a statement.
Michael Stoll, economist, professor and chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the current migration patterns reflect longer 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.
“Unique amenities such as outdoor recreation, arts and entertainment activities, and green space protection likely continue to propel Oregon to the top of the list for the second straight year,” he said.
United classifies states as “high inbound” if 55 percent or more of the moves are going into a state, “high outbound” if 55 percent or more moves were coming out of a state or “balanced” if the difference between inbound and outbound is negligible.
The study did not include Alaska or Hawaii, but included the District of Columbia.

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