Oregon Public Broadcasting

Americans are still following the trail blazed by Lewis and Clark by migrating westward.

That's according to a study conducted by Atlas Van Lines.  Atlas is is the second largest moving company in the country.  Since 1994 they've grouped states into outbound, inbound and balanced.

Outbound means more people leave the state than move to it.

Barbara Cox is the director of marketing communications for Atlas Van Lines.  She says for the fourth straight year Oregon is an inbound state, meaning people are moving to Oregon in greater numbers.

She says the whole West Coast is a hot destination.

Barbara Cox: "Eight of the 13 areas classified as inbound are classified as west of the Mississippi River.  And four are west of the Rocky Mountains.  So I don't know what that says except people are going west again."

Cox said corporate moves to the west could be one factor.    She said the quality of life and open spaces are likely other reasons more people are uprooting and headed west.

The study looked at about 92,000 moves from 2007.