Most Oregonians were born somewhere else: Here’s where we came from

A little more than half of Oregonians moved here from out of state.

California, Texas, New York, Latin America. People come from all over.

And we move around a lot. Census data shows that, across all states, a little more than 40% of Americans live in a state other than the place where they were born.

Migration is economically vital to Oregon because more people die here each year than are born here, and because it has the oldest population of any state in the West. Unless Oregon draws from elsewhere, its workforce will dwindle and there will be fewer people and resources to care for our aging population.

Oregonians tend to come from big states close by. More than 600,000 arrived from neighboring California, the most populous state in the union. Another 200,000 Oregonians came south from Washington.

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Texas, New York and Illinois each contribute about 60,000 Oregon residents. Those states aren’t close by but, like California, they’re among the largest states and so have more to give.

Nearly 500,000 Oregon residents moved here from other countries. The census numbers don’t tell us, specifically, which countries but they do tell us which region. The top ones are Latin America (43%), Asia (33%) and Europe (15%).

Migration into Oregon has been slow since the pandemic. The state’s population growth was among the lowest in the U.S. during 2025.

That’s a big switch. Oregon — like other western states — used to be a big draw for people seeking a fresh start. That’s why Oregon still has a relatively high share of people who moved here from elsewhere, even though it hasn’t drawn as many recently amid rising housing costs and a dwindling labor market.

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Oregon ranks No. 10 nationally for the highest share of residents who moved in from out of state. Nevada is No. 1 (73%), followed by Florida, Arizona and New Hampshire (all around 60%).

The places with the highest share of residents who were born in the state where they live today are a mix of the upper Midwest and deep South. More than 70% of people living in Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were born in those states.

This is Oregon Insight, The Oregonian’s weekly look at the numbers behind the state’s economy. View past installments here.