Small Towns In The US Are Offering $20K To Remote Workers To Relocate

Small towns across the United States are sending a message to the new generation of remote workers: We’ll pay you to relocate here.

Communities from Maine to Michigan are offering bonuses of up to $20,000 in cash and benefits for out-of-state residents who move and stay for at least a year while working remotely. A slower pace, affordable housing, less traffic, access to nature, and close-knit communities are the key draws, aside from the income.

It is well worth the money for towns and counties to diversify their demographics and improve their economies. Newcomers eat at local restaurants and shops, pay taxes, enroll their children in local schools, and volunteer or participate in civic events.

“Many of these communities historically have been fly-over towns,” said Evan Hock, co-founder of MakeMyMove.com, a clearinghouse for incentive deals that lists around three dozen around the country.  “Maybe they lost population in the last decade; growth has slowed. Brand-new citizens bring a lot of income and spending that is enormously valuable as it trickles through the economy.”

Incentive schemes are gaining traction as a result of the national shift to working from home. According to a recent Gartner survey, nearly half of businesses now intend to enable full-time remote work. Meanwhile, according to a survey released last week, nearly a third of Californians who still work from home intend to do so permanently.

Brad Smith, Intuit’s former CEO and currently executive chair of its board and chair of the Nordstrom board, “It’s a magical strategic intersection of new workforce trends and a shift in geographic preferences.”

Smith, a Menlo Park resident who’s proud of his West Virginia roots. He and his partner, Alys, are funding a new initiative called Ascend WV, which provides $12,000 in cash and a year of free outdoor activities and co-working space to people who move to the state’s self-proclaimed “wild, wonderful” area.

They hope to recruit 1,000 remote employees over the next five years, beginning with 50 in Morgantown this year.

“Rural has become the new urban,” Smith said. “People want to be part of that Hallmark lifestyle in communities where they have a chance to know other people.”

To be sure, there are fine print requirements for all relocation incentives. They want evidence of income and that the newcomers can work from anywhere. Some of them necessitate purchasing a home (albeit at prices that seem laughably low by Bay Area standards). Both require at least a year of residency, with some requiring two. Both of them have a cap on the number of people they will admit.

In June 2018, the Alabama counties of Lauderdale and Colbert, known as The Shoals, launched a $10,000 reward program called Remote Shoals.

“The pandemic changed everything,” said Adam Himber, vice president of the Shoals Economic Development Authority. “A lot of people are now in remote positions, so the interest level has increased tremendously.”

The low cost of living in the Shoals could contribute to increased interest. The average home costs $175,000 to buy. In their remote work, applicants must make at least $52,000.

“We have a lot of people from the West Coast who will ask, ‘Hey, I want to buy a house, can I get one for $350,000?’” Himber said. “And we say, ‘Yes, you can buy a mansion with a lot of land.’”

Berrien County, Michigan, which has a population of around 150,000, launched Move to Michigan in October, offering $10,000 to transplants from other states, with an additional $5,000 if they enroll a child in public schools. To receive the full stipend, you must purchase a home for at least $200,000 and remain for at least two years.

There has been a flood of applications. The county is now sifting through 1,000 applications with the aim of bringing in 20 to 25 families.

Rob Cleveland, president of Cornerstone Alliance, said, “We wanted new people and new income.”

Not all of the deals are monetary in nature. Several small towns in Iowa, Kansas, and Texas offer free lots worth around $3,000 to transplants looking to create a home. Possibility Maine provides state tax credits of up to $367 a month to help recent college graduates pay off their student loans. Graduates from Maine or elsewhere are welcome to apply. It also hosts networking events for people who are considering relocating and want to get their questions answered. Katie Shorey, director of communication for Live + Work in Maine, said, “We found it accelerates their move to Maine.”

Local incentives are used in some systems. West Virginia provides free whitewater rafting, hiking, rock climbing, and rafting; Topeka, Kansas, provides a year’s worth of Jimmy John sandwiches; northwest Arkansas provides a mountain bike; and Topeka, Kansas, provides a year’s worth of Jimmy John sandwiches. A concierge service to assist new tenants and access to a co-working room and networking activities are available at several locations.

Tulsa Remote is one of the most famous programs. It began in late 2018 and has since paid out $10,000 to over 700 individuals, many of whom relocated to the northeast Oklahoma city with their families, children, and other family members. This year, it plans to recruit 750 new “members.”

“In 2020, we saw a fivefold increase in applications as more and more people had the opportunity to work remotely and also were looking for communities in which they could have more space,” said Ben Stewart, executive director. “Places like Tulsa got on their radar.”

40% to 45% of those who have relocated work in technology, while 30% work in business services. Stewart said, “The rest range from a Harlem Globetrotter to a Japanese opera singer.”

Stephanie Robesky, 45, who describes herself as a “California girl through and through,” had never heard of Tulsa until a few years ago. But, fed up with San Francisco’s rising costs, social problems, and traffic, she started to consider relocating.

Tulsa’s bid appeared in her news feed and followed her across the internet. She eventually agreed to apply, which she considered an insightful exercise in clarifying her goals.

Tulsa Remote, which was still relatively new at the time, gave her a tour of the area. “I thought, ‘Great, risk-free,’ ” she said. “Honestly, in the back of my mind, it was a long shot.”

However, after a long weekend, she was blown away by the city’s facilities and decided to stay. Her Oakland employer decided to let her work remotely in her product management role, so she relocated in the spring of 2019.

She said, “Since then, I found a boyfriend, bought a house, am fostering animals, and am very active in the Tulsa Remote community.”

The money wasn’t the draw, she said, but it did “de-risk” the transfer. The most important factor was forging ties with other transplants through regular networking events. She said, “It’s really hard as a remote worker to move to a place where you don’t have roots already and don’t know anyone.”

For certain people, the allure of money is insufficient. Ivan and Brooke Lugo of San Lorenzo have been considering relocating, especially because Ivan’s software development job has become remote.  “We could move somewhere else; I could do the exact same job I was doing in the office and lead a higher-quality life,” he said.

They came across the Michigan bid by chance. He said, “That was a substantial amount of money to move and find a new place.”   They did, however, eventually pass. He said,  “That particular locale wasn’t a fan favorite for us.”

Hock and Bill Oesterle, both veterans of the home-service referral site Angie’s List, founded MakeMyMove late last year. Its goal is to make it easier for people to find jobs and for communities to communicate with them.

“Suddenly, millions of people were freed from their current location,” Hock said. “We realized it was a unique opportunity to help communities recruit these remote workers. We expect to see these incentives start to get richer and richer as competition increases and as communities understand the economic value of these folks.”

Smith also believes that more locations would have incentives to relocate.

“There will be a large number of people who now have choices, and there will be communities like West Virginia and others who say ‘Let me make the choice easier,’” Smith said. “Other communities will follow suit.”