PORTLAND – Mainers are less likely than people in other states to move from place to place, according to the latest census figures.

Roughly 40 percent of people age 5 or older living in Maine in 2000 packed their belongings and moved to a different residence in the latter half of the 1990s, with more than three-quarters of them remaining within the state.

That was six percentage points lower than the national average, according to census data released Wednesday.

Out-of-state migration to and from Maine was closely balanced compared to most other states.

In the five years leading up to the 2000 Census, 107,999 U.S. residents moved to Maine and 104,359 exited the state, for a net in-migration of 3,640.

The largest influx was from Massachusetts, with 19,436 Bay Staters moving to Maine during the period. In terms of out-migration, no single state was statistically the largest destination of people moving from Maine.

The census found that Maine had more than 1.2 million residents age 5 or older in 2000, of whom 717,407 were living in the same place as in 1995. Of the 486,757 who made a move during that period, 368,245 stayed within the state.

Cumberland County was the most footloose of Maine’s 16 counties, with 46 percent of its residents making a move during the period. Androscoggin and Sagadahoc followed at 43 percent and York and Penobscot were close behind at 42 percent.

Aroostook County residents were the least prone to pick up stakes: only 32 percent of them made a move. Washington and Piscataquis counties were close at 33 percent, followed by Somerset at 34 percent.

Among cities, the Portland area had 46 percent movers, mirroring the figures for Cumberland County. But the figure was even higher – 48 percent – for the Bangor area, which reflects the changing student population at the University of Maine.