When the Ranieris relocated their family to Denver from West Palm Beach, Fla., in early 2003, they had big hopes for life in the Mile High City. But after he was laid off and spent a year trying to find a job, Bill Ranieri - along with his wife, Rene, and five of their children - packed their bags and headed back to Florida last month in a U-Haul truck.

The Ranieris personify a trend in their migration from a tough job market.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 10,600 Colorado residents left the state last year, even as the state posted a net gain of 16,500 people. Many of the people who left did so because they could not find work, state demographer Jim Westkott said.

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