The COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and a higher cost of living in major cities have combined with opportunities for remote work over the past two years. This combination has fueled a major migration across the country. In the first year of the pandemic, migration out of densely populated, expensive cities like New York and San Francisco was especially notable. Many moved to Sunbelt cities where the weather is warmer and the cost of living significantly lower.
But not everyone who moved in recent years went very far. Analysis of movement out of crowded cities shows that many of those leaving city centers moved into nearby suburbs in the same state, rather than making cross country moves.
Other trends suggest that many people are sticking close to home, remaining in or moving back to the state, or even the town they were born in. Even before the pandemic, the number of younger adults living with their parents was on the rise, mostly due to financial difficulties. This economic hardship was made worse by the pandemic, and resulted in many moving back in with their parents. By the end of 2020, more than half of Americans under the age of 29 were living at home, exceeding the share of young adults living with their parents during the Great Depression.
Apart from the pandemic, many people choose not to leave the state they were raised in, for reasons ranging from wanting to be close to family to not having the resources to leave, to sticking with a lower cost of living.
In order to determine where people stay put, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Oregon using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents that were born in the state according to 2020 5-year estimates.
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Manuela Durson // Shutterstock
#36. Curry County
– Population: 22,889
– Born in Oregon: 6,772 (29.6% of population)
– Born in a different state: 14,797 (64.6% of population)
— Midwest (9.9%), Northeast (5.5%), South (5.9%), West (43.3%)
– Born in another country: 984 (4.30% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.45%), Europe (1.80%), Latin America (1.88%), North America (0.17%), Oceania (0.00%)
Joseph Novak // Wikicommons
#35. Josephine County
– Population: 87,097
– Born in Oregon: 30,518 (35.0% of population)
– Born in a different state: 52,723 (60.5% of population)
— Midwest (8.5%), Northeast (3.5%), South (5.3%), West (43.2%)
– Born in another country: 3,310 (3.80% of population)
— Africa (0.11%) , Asia (0.57%), Europe (1.27%), Latin America (1.43%), North America (0.38%), Oceania (0.04%)
Little Mountain 5 // Wikicommons
#34. Jackson County
– Population: 218,781
– Born in Oregon: 89,414 (40.9% of population)
– Born in a different state: 115,020 (52.6% of population)
— Midwest (8.8%), Northeast (4.3%), South (5.6%), West (33.8%)
– Born in another country: 12,519 (5.72% of population)
— Africa (0.10%) , Asia (1.04%), Europe (1.05%), Latin America (3.23%), North America (0.23%), Oceania (0.08%)
Stuart Seeger // Wikicommons
#33. Multnomah County
– Population: 809,869
– Born in Oregon: 331,455 (40.9% of population)
– Born in a different state: 354,046 (43.7% of population)
— Midwest (9.3%), Northeast (5.8%), South (6.7%), West (22.0%)
– Born in another country: 111,453 (13.76% of population)
— Africa (1.02%) , Asia (5.44%), Europe (2.64%), Latin America (3.85%), North America (0.44%), Oceania (0.37%)
Ian Poellet // Wikimedia Commons
#32. Deschutes County
– Population: 191,749
– Born in Oregon: 78,792 (41.1% of population)
– Born in a different state: 102,449 (53.4% of population)
— Midwest (10.0%), Northeast (4.7%), South (5.6%), West (33.2%)
– Born in another country: 8,295 (4.33% of population)
— Africa (0.06%) , Asia (0.95%), Europe (1.00%), Latin America (1.88%), North America (0.34%), Oceania (0.10%)
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M.O. Stevens // Wikimedia Commons
#31. Washington County
– Population: 595,761
– Born in Oregon: 247,608 (41.6% of population)
– Born in a different state: 232,496 (39.0% of population)
— Midwest (7.2%), Northeast (3.9%), South (5.0%), West (23.0%)
– Born in another country: 106,612 (17.90% of population)
— Africa (0.68%) , Asia (8.46%), Europe (2.05%), Latin America (6.04%), North America (0.49%), Oceania (0.18%)
EncMstr // Wikimedia Commons
#30. Lincoln County
– Population: 49,336
– Born in Oregon: 20,532 (41.6% of population)
– Born in a different state: 26,030 (52.8% of population)
— Midwest (9.9%), Northeast (4.6%), South (5.7%), West (32.6%)
– Born in another country: 2,369 (4.80% of population)
— Africa (0.17%) , Asia (0.77%), Europe (0.75%), Latin America (2.79%), North America (0.27%), Oceania (0.07%)
Sam Beebe // Wikimedia Commons
#29. Hood River County
– Population: 23,270
– Born in Oregon: 9,709 (41.7% of population)
– Born in a different state: 9,353 (40.2% of population)
— Midwest (8.9%), Northeast (4.1%), South (4.5%), West (22.7%)
– Born in another country: 3,966 (17.04% of population)
— Africa (0.04%) , Asia (0.99%), Europe (0.75%), Latin America (14.82%), North America (0.44%), Oceania (0.00%)
cpaulfell // Shutterstock
#28. Benton County
– Population: 92,168
– Born in Oregon: 39,729 (43.1% of population)
– Born in a different state: 41,700 (45.2% of population)
— Midwest (10.0%), Northeast (4.6%), South (5.7%), West (25.0%)
– Born in another country: 9,158 (9.94% of population)
— Africa (0.19%) , Asia (5.74%), Europe (1.52%), Latin America (1.86%), North America (0.49%), Oceania (0.13%)
Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA // Wikimedia Commons
#27. Malheur County
– Population: 30,632
– Born in Oregon: 13,703 (44.7% of population)
– Born in a different state: 13,811 (45.1% of population)
— Midwest (4.6%), Northeast (0.7%), South (5.6%), West (34.1%)
– Born in another country: 2,868 (9.36% of population)
— Africa (0.08%) , Asia (0.77%), Europe (0.30%), Latin America (7.91%), North America (0.12%), Oceania (0.19%)
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Gancayco // Wikimedia Commons
#26. Umatilla County
– Population: 77,319
– Born in Oregon: 34,925 (45.2% of population)
– Born in a different state: 34,072 (44.1% of population)
— Midwest (5.1%), Northeast (1.5%), South (4.0%), West (33.5%)
– Born in another country: 7,432 (9.61% of population)
— Africa (0.13%) , Asia (0.37%), Europe (0.32%), Latin America (8.56%), North America (0.17%), Oceania (0.06%)
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#25. Morrow County
– Population: 11,425
– Born in Oregon: 5,273 (46.2% of population)
– Born in a different state: 4,119 (36.1% of population)
— Midwest (4.2%), Northeast (0.9%), South (3.0%), West (28.0%)
– Born in another country: 1,950 (17.07% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.85%), Europe (0.25%), Latin America (15.85%), North America (0.04%), Oceania (0.09%)
English: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives // Wikimedia Commons
#24. Douglas County
– Population: 110,015
– Born in Oregon: 50,800 (46.2% of population)
– Born in a different state: 55,066 (50.1% of population)
— Midwest (8.7%), Northeast (2.4%), South (5.1%), West (33.9%)
– Born in another country: 3,066 (2.79% of population)
— Africa (0.03%) , Asia (0.57%), Europe (0.81%), Latin America (0.99%), North America (0.36%), Oceania (0.03%)
Debbie Tegtmeier // Wikimedia Commons
#23. Coos County
– Population: 64,175
– Born in Oregon: 29,733 (46.3% of population)
– Born in a different state: 31,522 (49.1% of population)
— Midwest (8.8%), Northeast (3.4%), South (6.8%), West (30.1%)
– Born in another country: 2,372 (3.70% of population)
— Africa (0.16%) , Asia (0.93%), Europe (1.02%), Latin America (1.36%), North America (0.21%), Oceania (0.02%)
Lauram12345 // Wikicommons
#22. Lane County
– Population: 377,749
– Born in Oregon: 176,538 (46.7% of population)
– Born in a different state: 175,914 (46.6% of population)
— Midwest (9.3%), Northeast (4.4%), South (5.8%), West (27.0%)
– Born in another country: 20,966 (5.55% of population)
— Africa (0.15%) , Asia (2.01%), Europe (0.82%), Latin America (2.00%), North America (0.42%), Oceania (0.14%)
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English: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives // Wikimedia Commons
#21. Clatsop County
– Population: 39,656
– Born in Oregon: 18,831 (47.5% of population)
– Born in a different state: 18,480 (46.6% of population)
— Midwest (8.2%), Northeast (3.6%), South (5.5%), West (29.3%)
– Born in another country: 1,978 (4.99% of population)
— Africa (0.13%) , Asia (0.56%), Europe (1.48%), Latin America (2.36%), North America (0.43%), Oceania (0.03%)
Bobjgalindo // Wikimedia Commons
#20. Klamath County
– Population: 67,606
– Born in Oregon: 32,434 (48.0% of population)
– Born in a different state: 30,824 (45.6% of population)
— Midwest (7.2%), Northeast (2.4%), South (5.7%), West (30.3%)
– Born in another country: 3,713 (5.49% of population)
— Africa (0.12%) , Asia (0.52%), Europe (0.72%), Latin America (3.91%), North America (0.22%), Oceania (0.00%)
M.O. Stevens // Wikimedia Commons
#19. Yamhill County
– Population: 106,087
– Born in Oregon: 52,984 (49.9% of population)
– Born in a different state: 42,862 (40.4% of population)
— Midwest (7.1%), Northeast (2.9%), South (5.7%), West (24.7%)
– Born in another country: 8,592 (8.10% of population)
— Africa (0.05%) , Asia (1.09%), Europe (0.98%), Latin America (5.68%), North America (0.21%), Oceania (0.09%)
Ken Lund // Wikimedia Commons
#18. Lake County
– Population: 7,896
– Born in Oregon: 3,956 (50.1% of population)
– Born in a different state: 3,496 (44.3% of population)
— Midwest (6.3%), Northeast (1.8%), South (5.3%), West (30.9%)
– Born in another country: 413 (5.23% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.85%), Europe (0.44%), Latin America (3.67%), North America (0.27%), Oceania (0.00%)
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#17. Baker County
– Population: 16,090
– Born in Oregon: 8,105 (50.4% of population)
– Born in a different state: 7,591 (47.2% of population)
— Midwest (8.7%), Northeast (2.5%), South (4.1%), West (31.8%)
– Born in another country: 321 (2.00% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.45%), Europe (0.19%), Latin America (1.11%), North America (0.12%), Oceania (0.11%)
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USFWS Headquarters’ photostream // Wikimedia Commons
#16. Tillamook County
– Population: 26,782
– Born in Oregon: 14,054 (52.5% of population)
– Born in a different state: 11,003 (41.1% of population)
— Midwest (6.9%), Northeast (3.3%), South (5.6%), West (25.2%)
– Born in another country: 1,430 (5.34% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.28%), Europe (0.83%), Latin America (3.90%), North America (0.28%), Oceania (0.04%)
Mrgadget51 // Wikimedia Commons
#15. Clackamas County
– Population: 415,084
– Born in Oregon: 218,463 (52.6% of population)
– Born in a different state: 156,662 (37.7% of population)
— Midwest (8.4%), Northeast (3.4%), South (4.1%), West (21.8%)
– Born in another country: 34,666 (8.35% of population)
— Africa (0.30%) , Asia (3.11%), Europe (1.88%), Latin America (2.52%), North America (0.40%), Oceania (0.14%)
Cacophony // Wikimedia Commons
#14. Wasco County
– Population: 26,274
– Born in Oregon: 13,835 (52.7% of population)
– Born in a different state: 9,804 (37.3% of population)
— Midwest (7.8%), Northeast (2.0%), South (4.3%), West (23.2%)
– Born in another country: 2,346 (8.93% of population)
— Africa (0.11%) , Asia (0.73%), Europe (1.08%), Latin America (6.77%), North America (0.05%), Oceania (0.18%)
Edmund Garman // Flickr
#13. Marion County
– Population: 343,742
– Born in Oregon: 182,212 (53.0% of population)
– Born in a different state: 114,910 (33.4% of population)
— Midwest (6.6%), Northeast (2.0%), South (4.2%), West (20.7%)
– Born in another country: 43,217 (12.57% of population)
— Africa (0.12%) , Asia (1.66%), Europe (1.05%), Latin America (9.21%), North America (0.21%), Oceania (0.33%)
Sam Beebe // Wikimedia Commons
#12. Wallowa County
– Population: 7,065
– Born in Oregon: 3,802 (53.8% of population)
– Born in a different state: 3,072 (43.5% of population)
— Midwest (6.3%), Northeast (2.6%), South (4.9%), West (29.7%)
– Born in another country: 142 (2.01% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.24%), Europe (0.86%), Latin America (0.91%), North America (0.00%), Oceania (0.00%)
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Cacophony // Wikimedia Commons
#11. Columbia County
– Population: 52,117
– Born in Oregon: 28,171 (54.1% of population)
– Born in a different state: 22,142 (42.5% of population)
— Midwest (7.3%), Northeast (2.0%), South (4.2%), West (29.0%)
– Born in another country: 1,333 (2.56% of population)
— Africa (0.17%) , Asia (0.85%), Europe (0.54%), Latin America (0.61%), North America (0.33%), Oceania (0.06%)
Bruce Fingerhood from Springfield, Oregon, US // Wikimedia Commons
#10. Polk County
– Population: 84,730
– Born in Oregon: 46,387 (54.7% of population)
– Born in a different state: 31,694 (37.4% of population)
— Midwest (6.7%), Northeast (2.6%), South (4.7%), West (23.4%)
– Born in another country: 5,871 (6.93% of population)
— Africa (0.01%) , Asia (1.27%), Europe (1.14%), Latin America (3.87%), North America (0.21%), Oceania (0.43%)
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#9. Grant County
– Population: 7,174
– Born in Oregon: 4,046 (56.4% of population)
– Born in a different state: 2,872 (40.0% of population)
— Midwest (8.4%), Northeast (2.0%), South (2.5%), West (27.1%)
– Born in another country: 205 (2.86% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.68%), Europe (0.79%), Latin America (1.02%), North America (0.21%), Oceania (0.15%)
Jmabel // Wikimedia Commons
#8. Linn County
– Population: 127,216
– Born in Oregon: 72,289 (56.8% of population)
– Born in a different state: 48,544 (38.2% of population)
— Midwest (7.6%), Northeast (2.2%), South (4.9%), West (23.5%)
– Born in another country: 5,361 (4.21% of population)
— Africa (0.08%) , Asia (0.78%), Europe (0.45%), Latin America (2.68%), North America (0.20%), Oceania (0.02%)
Cacophony // Wikimedia Commons
#7. Crook County
– Population: 23,733
– Born in Oregon: 13,861 (58.4% of population)
– Born in a different state: 9,255 (39.0% of population)
— Midwest (8.1%), Northeast (1.4%), South (4.7%), West (24.9%)
– Born in another country: 467 (1.97% of population)
— Africa (0.08%) , Asia (0.45%), Europe (0.15%), Latin America (0.74%), North America (0.29%), Oceania (0.26%)
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Williamborg // Wikimedia Commons
#6. Union County
– Population: 26,502
– Born in Oregon: 15,501 (58.5% of population)
– Born in a different state: 9,958 (37.6% of population)
— Midwest (6.5%), Northeast (1.9%), South (5.4%), West (23.7%)
– Born in another country: 775 (2.92% of population)
— Africa (0.04%) , Asia (0.69%), Europe (0.39%), Latin America (0.52%), North America (0.14%), Oceania (1.14%)
Ken Lund // Wikimedia Commons
#5. Harney County
– Population: 7,310
– Born in Oregon: 4,341 (59.4% of population)
– Born in a different state: 2,820 (38.6% of population)
— Midwest (6.7%), Northeast (2.1%), South (2.7%), West (27.1%)
– Born in another country: 86 (1.18% of population)
— Africa (0.07%) , Asia (0.08%), Europe (0.37%), Latin America (0.52%), North America (0.11%), Oceania (0.03%)
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#4. Jefferson County
– Population: 24,048
– Born in Oregon: 14,338 (59.6% of population)
– Born in a different state: 8,060 (33.5% of population)
— Midwest (5.3%), Northeast (1.5%), South (4.5%), West (22.2%)
– Born in another country: 1,511 (6.28% of population)
— Africa (0.04%) , Asia (0.35%), Europe (0.80%), Latin America (4.93%), North America (0.15%), Oceania (0.02%)
Tedder // Wikimedia Commons
#3. Gilliam County
– Population: 1,896
– Born in Oregon: 1,158 (61.1% of population)
– Born in a different state: 651 (34.3% of population)
— Midwest (7.4%), Northeast (1.7%), South (4.5%), West (20.7%)
– Born in another country: 51 (2.69% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.63%), Europe (0.53%), Latin America (1.21%), North America (0.00%), Oceania (0.32%)
Finetooth // Wikimedia Commons
#2. Sherman County
– Population: 1,686
– Born in Oregon: 1,043 (61.9% of population)
– Born in a different state: 610 (36.2% of population)
— Midwest (5.6%), Northeast (1.5%), South (2.9%), West (26.2%)
– Born in another country: 22 (1.30% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.00%), Europe (0.18%), Latin America (0.30%), North America (0.30%), Oceania (0.53%)
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Tomas Nevesely // Shutterstock
#1. Wheeler County
– Population: 1,417
– Born in Oregon: 889 (62.7% of population)
– Born in a different state: 481 (33.9% of population)
— Midwest (4.6%), Northeast (1.8%), South (4.8%), West (22.8%)
– Born in another country: 47 (3.32% of population)
— Africa (0.00%) , Asia (0.64%), Europe (0.78%), Latin America (1.83%), North America (0.07%), Oceania (0.00%)
Stacker
Stacker is a news organization that produces and distributes data journalism to the world’s news organizations. Founded in 2017, Stacker combines data analysis with rich editorial context, drawing on authoritative sources and subject matter experts to drive storytelling. This article has been republished pursuant to a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.