More than 130,000 Oregonians moved to other states last year, a little more than half of them to neighboring states like Washington and California.

But two of the most popular destinations for Oregon expats are somewhat farther afield — Arizona and Texas. Each had a little more than 10,000 Oregonians move in last year, according to recently released census data.

While only a tiny percentage of Oregonians move away each year (about 3% in 2023), the preferences of those who do leave tell us something about what they find appealing.

Texas and Arizona both have lots of sun, of course, a lot more than you’ll find west of the Cascades. They also have relatively low income taxes — none at all, in Texas’ case.

They both have an average sales tax rate above 8%, though, while Oregon has no sales tax at all. And housing cost estimates — which vary considerably within all three states — don’t place either state clearly ahead of Oregon.

Both Texas and Arizona stand out in the rankings, too, because far more Oregonians moved to those states than moved there from Oregon. The same goes for neighboring Idaho, one of the most popular states for Oregonians moving elsewhere.

Again, the numbers aren’t large relative to the states’ total populations. But they do give some indications of the relative appeal of each state — at least among the small share of the population that’s inclined to move.

Oregon’s population was stagnant last year, with slightly fewer people moving into the state than moved away. That followed two years of small population declines that followed the pandemic — a dramatic reversal of rapid migration into the state during much of the 2010s.

Because Oregon has the highest median age of state residents in the West, with a relatively low birth rate, it needs people to move here to keep population steady and to work in the state’s offices, factories and fields.

So where are people coming from?

Again, people aren’t moving far. Most new Oregonians come from neighboring states — about half from California and Washington.

Lots of people come to Oregon from Arizona and Colorado, too. And Utah stands out because far more people move to Oregon from that state than the other way around.