"This year's data reflects longer-term trends of people moving to the Pacific West, where cities such as Portland and Seattle are seeing the combination of a boom in the technology and creative marketing industry, as well as a growing 'want' for outdoor activity and green space," Michael Stoll, economist, professor and chair of the department of public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a news release. "The aging Boomer population is driving relocation from the Northeast and Midwest to the West and South, as more and more people retire to warmer regions."