Several reports on the Census findings. "Americans are leaving the nation’s big cities in search of cheaper homes and open spaces. Nearly every large metropolitan area had more people move out than move in from 2000 to 2004, according to a report being released today by the Census Bureau."

"(Professor) Richard Florida said smaller, wealthier households are replacing larger families in many big metropolitan areas. That drives up housing prices even as the population shrinks, chasing away even more members of the middle class. 'Because they are bidding up prices, they are forcing some people out to the exurbs and the fringe,' Florida said. 'Other people are forced to make moves in response to that.'"

"The metropolitan area that attracted the most new residents was Riverside, Calif., which has been siphoning residents from Los Angeles for years. 'When you look at housing prices in Southern California, along the beaches and coastlines, you’re able to obtain a very large home for a much lower price' in Riverside, said Cindy Roth, president and CEO of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce."

"Massachusetts lost more residents than it attracted in recent years, at a greater rate than any other state but New York, according to Census Bureau. With an average annual exodus of 42,402 people. That amounts to a rate of 6.6 people leaving the state per 1,000, second only to New York's rate of 9.6 residents per 1,000 during that period."

"Demographers pointed to the region's precipitous loss of high-tech jobs and the continued high cost of housing as factors driving Massachusetts residents elsewhere. 'I think that's plaguing a lot of the country, these go-go places of the late '90s, especially those with the high-tech components and persistent high housing costs,' said William H. Frey."

"'There's much more of a consciousness now that 'if I move to such and such a place, I can get a house or a much bigger house,' Marc J. Perry said. 'Those who leave a high-cost area are those who are cashing out and those who never cashed in,' said Perry."

"In New York City, the counties that make up the five boroughs, except for Staten Island, were also among the top 25 counties with large annual population losses. But only Brooklyn and Queens, each of which lost 55,000 annually to other states, also made the list with the highest rates of population loss."

"Soaring prices in some Florida cities could slow or reverse the net migration there. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some retirees are moving to areas in Tennessee, Kentucky and western North Carolina that are considered safer, cheaper and less crowded. 'We call them halfbacks,' says Perry. 'They move all the way down to Florida from the North and then move halfway back.'"