More people are moving to Washington state. Where are they coming from?
Washington’s population is growing — with more than 1 million new residents arriving in the state in the past 10 years.
The Evergreen State gained more than 79,000 people from April 2024 to this April, according to the Washington State Office of Financial Management.
“Net migration — people moving in minus people moving out — (was) the largest driver of population growth,” state officials explained, accounting for 61,700 new residents.
Where did those new Washington residents come from? And where are people moving when they choose to leave the state?
A new study from U-Haul sheds some light on the answer.
The rental company recently released its report on the latest moving trends in 2025, tracking migration between the largest metropolitan areas in the nation.
“Many of the largest U.S. metros are in growth mode — a change from what was seen following the COVID-19 pandemic when people took advantage of remote work and migrated to less-crowded markets,” U-Haul said in its July 16 report. “More recently, big cities and their expanding suburbs are back to greeting a robust inflow of U-Haul equipment.”
People are moving to Washington. Where are they coming from?
In its 2025 Midyear Migration Trends report, U-Haul focused on moves to and from Seattle.
The metro area encompassing Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue had a population of more than 4 million people in 2020, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to U-Haul, people were most likely to move to Seattle from the following 10 states:
- Oregon
- California
- Texas
- Arizona
- Idaho
- Colorado
- Utah
- Nevada
- Montana
- Florida
U-Haul said its customers were mostly moving to Seattle from cities including Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Portland, Oregon.
Seattle also drew new residents from the San Francisco Bay Area, the moving company said.
Which Washington cities are sending the most people to Seattle?
People are also moving to Seattle from other parts of Washington state, according to U-Haul.
According to the moving company, these were the most common cities of origin for people looking to relocate within the state:
- Spokane
- Vancouver
- Bellingham
- Yakima
- Bremerton
Where are Washington residents moving in US?
Although Washington saw a significant population increase from April 2024 to the same month the following year, the state recorded its lowest net migration total since 2021, the state Office of Financial Management said.
According to the 2025 report by U-Haul, people from Washington state are mostly moving to other metro areas in the West.
The U.S. cities that have gained the most Washington residents include Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Portland, Oregon.
California cities attracted the lion’s share of people moving out of Washington state, with residents leaving the Evergreen State for Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose and Riverside.
Specifically, U-Haul said, Seattle residents relocated to the following cities in the United States:
- Los Angeles
- Phoenix
- Portland, Oregon
- Riverside, California
- Sacramento, California
- San Diego, California
- San Francisco and San Jose, California
Spokane was the fifth most common starting point for people moving to Portland, Oregon, the U-Haul study said.
How did U-Haul come up with findings?
In order to determine where people are moving in the United States, U-Haul looked one-way moves from January through July — checking the cities where its trucks, trailers and moving containers were rented and the destinations where movers were headed.
The moving company focused on the 35 metro areas with populations greater than 2 million.
“Many of the largest U.S. metros are in growth mode,” U-Haul said, which is “a change from what was seen following the COVID-19 pandemic when people took advantage of remote work and migrated to less-crowded markets.”