Census data, migration studies, and cost of living comparisons reveal where Portland Oregon homeowners are actually going, and what they are finding when they get there.

By Bridgetown Home Buyers | Portland, Oregon | March 2026 | Part 3 of the Keep It Weird Series

Portland Oregon is not emptying out all at once. It does not work that way. What is happening is quieter and more methodical. One household at a time, one equity check at a time, PDX homeowners are running the math, looking at what their home is worth, looking at what their city is offering in return, and deciding the equation no longer works in their favor.

More than 130,000 Oregonians moved to other states in a single year according to the 2024 American Community Survey. The Portland metro area lost its position as the 25th largest U.S. metro to Austin, Texas, which now has roughly 12,000 more residents. Multnomah County ranks 94th out of the 100 largest counties in the country for total percent population growth.

These are not abstractions. They are people who owned homes in Portland, built equity in Portland, and then made a deliberate decision to take that equity somewhere else. This article is about where they went, why they went there, and what the data says about each destination. If you are a Portland homeowner thinking about selling, this is the most practical research you can read right now.

More than 130,000 Oregonians moved to other states in a single year. Half went to neighboring Washington and California. But the fastest growing destinations are further out, and the reasons are consistent: lower costs, more housing, less tax burden, and cities that are actually building for their futures.

Table of Contents hide

1 First: What the Oregon Migration Data Actually Shows

2 The 9 Cities People are Leaving Portland to

3 The Pattern Across All 9 Cities

4 What This Means If You Are Thinking About Selling in Portland

5 Read the Full Keep It Weird Series

6 Sources & Data

6.1 Related posts:

First: What the Oregon Migration Data Actually Shows

Before getting to the cities, it is worth being precise about what the data says and what it does not say. Oregon’s overall migration picture is mixed depending on which study you read. United Van Lines found Oregon led the nation in inbound moves in 2025 at 65% inbound. Atlas Van Lines, which tends to track corporate relocations, found more people left than arrived over the same period. U-Haul ranked Oregon 11th for growth in 2025.

The story these numbers are telling in combination is that Oregon is attracting inbound movers from California and other states while simultaneously losing its own established residents, many of whom are higher income homeowners who have built equity and are now cashing out. The net result is a state that is technically growing at 0.34% annually but losing its economic and tax base faster than the raw population number suggests.

For Portland specifically, the picture is clearer. The Portland metro area had negative net migration between 2020 and 2024. Its population gain during that period came entirely from natural increase, not from people choosing to move there. Portland ranked 30th among metro areas for inbound moves in United Van Lines data, well behind Eugene-Springfield and Salem. Oregon’s net migration ranking fell from 2nd in the nation in 2016 to 45th in 2023, according to Common Sense Institute Oregon.

Where are Portland homeowners going? The Census data, migration studies, and real estate market comparisons point to nine destinations that appear consistently across multiple data sources. Here they are, in order from closest to furthest.

The 9 Cities People are Leaving Portland to

Vancouver, Washington: The path of least resistance, same metro, no state income tax

Why Portland people are moving here: Vancouver is the most common first move for Portland homeowners who want out of Oregon’s tax and regulatory environment without leaving the Portland metro area entirely. Washington has no state income tax, which for a household earning $120,000 in Portland means roughly $8,000 to $11,000 more in annual take-home pay depending on deductions. Clark County, which includes Vancouver Washington, welcomed 4,413 new residents from Portland in a single year according to Census data. The city is functionally part of the Portland metro, with the same employers, the same commute options, and access to Oregon’s sales-tax-free shopping across the river. For Portland homeowners with equity who want to buy immediately in a lower-cost market, Vancouver offers median home prices around $460,000, below Portland’s $529,000, plus the ongoing income tax advantage.

*Median home price: ~$460,000 | State income tax: Zero | Portland commute: 15 to 25 min

Boise, Idaho: The Pacific Northwest escape valve, 19% cheaper than Portland

Why Portland people are moving here: Boise has been absorbing Pacific Northwest transplants for years and the data confirms it as one of the most consistent migration destinations for Portland area homeowners. Cost of living in Boise is 19% to 24% lower than Portland depending on the measure used. To maintain a Portland standard of living costing $8,771 per month, a Boise resident needs only $7,100. Idaho has no state income tax on wages at the same rate as Oregon, though its top rate of 5.8% is significantly lower than Oregon’s 9.9%. Boise consistently appears on PODS, U-Haul, and United Van Lines top destination lists. It offers outdoor access comparable to Oregon, a growing tech sector anchored by Micron Technology and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and a housing market where Portland equity goes considerably further. Median home prices in Boise sit around $450,000. Median home price: ~$450,000

*Cost of living vs Portland: 19% lower | Top income tax rate: 5.8% vs 9.9%

Bend, Oregon: Still Oregon, but the version that is actually growing

Why Portland people are moving here: For Portland homeowners who are not ready to leave Oregon entirely, Bend Oregon is the most compelling alternative. Deschutes County grew 6% between 2020 and 2024, the fastest growth rate in the state. Bend added 5,347 new residents between 2020 and 2023 alone, a 5.4% population increase driven by remote workers, outdoor lifestyle seekers, and residents escaping Portland’s urban challenges. Bend offers the same state tax structure as Portland but a dramatically different quality of life equation: 300 days of sunshine versus Portland’s 164 days of rain, direct access to skiing, climbing, cycling, and river recreation, and a small city culture that Portland used to have before it scaled past the point of cohesion. The tradeoff is price. Bend’s median home exceeds $600,000, the most expensive major market in Oregon outside Portland. Portland equity often covers the difference.

*Median home price: ~$600,000+ | Population growth 2020-2024: +6% | Sunshine days per year: ~300

Salem, Oregon: Affordable Oregon, 30 minutes south, growing steadily

Why Portland people are moving here: Salem is absorbing buyers priced out of Portland and attracting Portland homeowners who want to stay in Oregon but reduce their cost burden. The Salem metro was the only Oregon metro area with growth from both natural increase and net migration between 2020 and 2024. Median home prices in Salem sit around $390,000, roughly $140,000 below Portland’s median. Salem Oregon ranked 7th nationally for inbound moves among metro areas in the United Van Lines 2025 study, reflecting genuine demand from people choosing it deliberately rather than settling for it. The city offers a stable government and healthcare employment base, access to the Willamette Valley wine country, and the ability to commute to Portland in 45 minutes when needed. For Portland homeowners selling at current prices, the equity difference between a Portland sale and a Salem purchase creates a meaningful financial cushion.

*Median home price: ~$390,000 | Nat’l inbound metro rank (2025): 7th | Portland commute: ~45 min

Spokane, Washington: Eastern Washington’s affordable city, no state income tax

Why Portland people are moving here: Spokane has been climbing migration destination lists steadily, appearing as a newcomer on the PODS top 25 cities list in 2025 after dropping off in 2024. It is attracting Pacific Northwest residents specifically described as overflow from people priced out of Portland and Seattle. Spokane offers Washington’s zero state income tax, a median home price around $330,000, and a significantly lower overall cost of living than Portland. It is a genuine mid-size city with a university, a healthcare economy anchored by Providence and MultiCare hospital systems, and outdoor access to the Cascades and eastern Washington wine country. The trade is distance: Spokane is a five hour drive from Portland, making it a commitment rather than a commute. For Portland homeowners who are genuinely done with the city rather than just relocating within the metro, Spokane’s combination of affordability and Washington’s tax structure is one of the strongest financial cases on this list.

*Median home price: ~$330,000 | State income tax: Zero | Cost of living vs PDX: Significantly lower

Austin, Texas: The city that proved build it and they will afford it

Why Portland people are moving here: Austin is the destination most directly supported by the data Bridgetown has examined throughout this series. The Portland metro area lost its position as the 25th largest U.S. metro to Austin, which now has approximately 12,000 more residents. Census data confirms Texas as one of the top four destinations for Oregonians leaving the state, alongside Washington, California, and Arizona. Austin delivered nearly 50,000 new housing units in 2023 and 2024 alone, driving median asking rents down 22% from their peak. Median home prices in Austin have pulled back roughly 3.6% year over year to around $525,000, below their 2022 peak and increasingly competitive with Portland’s $529,000, with the added advantage of Texas’s zero state income tax. The full financial case for Austin versus Portland is examined in Article 1 of this series.

*Median home price: ~$525,000 State income tax: Zero Rent decline from peak: 22%

Raleigh, North Carolina: Tech jobs, no state income tax equivalent, and housing that pencils out

Why Portland people are moving here: Raleigh has climbed from 20th to 3rd on the PODS moving destination list between 2023 and 2025, one of the most rapid rises of any major metro. The Research Triangle, anchored by North Carolina State University, Duke University, and UNC Chapel Hill, has attracted significant technology and life sciences investment. Apple, Google, and numerous biotech companies have expanded operations there. North Carolina’s income tax rate was cut to a flat 4.5% in 2024, significantly below Oregon’s top rate of 9.9%. Median home prices in Raleigh sit around $415,000. For Portland homeowners in tech, healthcare, or education fields, Raleigh offers a direct professional landing point with a lower cost structure, meaningful state income tax savings, and a housing market where Portland equity creates immediate purchasing power. Median home price: ~$415,000

*State income tax: 4.5% flat | PODS destination rank (2025): 3rd nationally

Nashville, Tennessee: No state income tax, four cities in the national top 25

Why Portland people are moving here: Tennessee placed four cities in the PODS national top 25 destinations in 2025, Nashville, Knoxville, Johnson City, and Chattanooga, reflecting sustained demand across the entire state. Nashville specifically draws Portland area movers in creative industries, healthcare, and technology. Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, a housing market with median prices around $430,000 in Nashville proper and significantly lower in surrounding suburbs, and a business environment that has attracted Oracle, Amazon, and AllianceBernstein headquarters relocations in recent years. The cost of living in Nashville runs roughly 8% to 12% below Portland’s depending on lifestyle choices. For Portland homeowners in the music, arts, food, and creative economy spaces, Nashville offers the cultural texture of a city that has actively built its creative economy rather than priced it out.

*Median home price: ~$430,000 | State tax on wages: Zero | Cost of living vs Portland: 8-12% lower

Phoenix, Arizona: Sun Belt affordability, with a housing market that builds

Why Portland people are moving here: Arizona ranks as the fourth largest destination for Oregonians leaving the state according to the 2024 American Community Survey, after Washington, California, and Texas. Phoenix specifically has been a consistent migration destination for Pacific Northwest residents for decades, and the data supports why. Arizona has a flat state income tax rate of 2.5% as of 2023, the result of significant tax reform, well below Oregon’s 9.9%. Median home prices in the Phoenix metro sit around $420,000. Arizona and the Phoenix metro consistently build new housing at rates that keep supply competitive with demand, unlike Oregon’s constrained UGB-limited construction. The trade is climate: Phoenix averages 299 days of sunshine per year alongside summer temperatures that regularly exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit. For Portland homeowners prioritizing financial position over Pacific Northwest lifestyle, Phoenix’s combination of low taxes, building-friendly policy, and affordable housing makes it one of the strongest destination options on this list.

*Median home price: ~$420,000 | State income tax: 2.5% flat | Sunshine days per year: 299

The Pattern Across All 9 Cities

Look at what every city on this list has in common and a clear picture emerges. Seven of the nine have either zero state income tax or a rate significantly below Oregon’s 9.9%. All nine have median home prices at or below Portland’s $529,000. All nine are in cities or states that build housing more aggressively than Oregon. And all nine are destinations that appear consistently across multiple independent migration data sources, meaning these are not outliers or anomalies. They are the places Portland’s departing homeowners are actually choosing.

The cities that are not on this list are equally instructive. San Francisco is not here. Seattle is not here. Los Angeles is not here. The pattern of Portland outmigration is not random. It is moving toward affordability, toward tax relief, and toward cities that have made a structural commitment to building housing supply. That is the direction the data points, consistently, across every dataset examined for this article.

Oregonians moved to other states in a single year 130,000+ (2024 American Community Survey)

Oregon’s net domestic migration ranking in 2023 45th (down from 2nd in 2016, Common Sense Institute Oregon)

Multnomah County’s population growth rank among the 100 largest U.S. counties 94th

residents by which Austin now exceeds Portland’s metro population 12,000 (Census, 2024)

What This Means If You Are Thinking About Selling in Portland

The most important thing to understand about Portland’s outmigration is the timing of the people who are leaving. The homeowners exiting now are largely people who have owned for five years or more, who have significant equity, and who are choosing to convert that equity into purchasing power in a destination market while Portland Oregon home values remain relatively stable. They are not waiting for a crash. They are leaving before conditions deteriorate further. If you are in that position and want to understand what your home is worth today and what a direct cash sale would look like, Bridgetown Home Buyers can give you a no-obligation cash offer within 24 hours.

For PDX homeowners managing inherited properties, estate situations, or properties that need significant work before they would qualify for a traditional sale, Bridgetown’s property buyout program offers a direct path to converting a complicated asset into clean capital, on your timeline, without the friction of listings, inspections, or financed buyers.

The Portland homeowners leaving now are not the ones who have given up. They are the ones who ran the numbers, looked at where Portland is heading structurally, and decided their equity is worth more deployed somewhere that is building a future rather than managing a decline.

Read the Full Keep It Weird Series

This article is Part 3 of Bridgetown Home Buyers’ Keep It Weird series, the most data-intensive examination of Portland’s housing market published by any Oregon cash home buyer. Part 1 compares Portland and Austin’s housing production records head to head. Part 2 examines Oregon’s Urban Growth Boundary, the 50-year-old law that structurally constrains housing supply. The full series is available at the Oregon Housing Market hub page.

Sources & Data

All data in this article is drawn from publicly available sources. Click each source to verify.

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