These US cities will pay you to move there

More than 20 percent of U.S. residents say they are more likely to move now that the 2024 election is over, and some cities are offering cold hard cash to attract newcomers.

The pandemic-era rise of remote work made it possible for employees to work away from their company’s home base. Cities like Tulsa, Okla., and Columbus, Ga, have tried to attract those workers with incentives worth thousands of dollars.

Other initiatives, like the Choose Topeka program in Kansas, are available to workers who relocate to the area even if they don’t work remotely.

Here are some of the places that will pay you to move there.

Home value and rent figures are from Zillow. Population estimates are based on U.S. Census data.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma, Skyline at Sunrise. (Photo by: Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Population: Approx. 411,000

Typical home value: $202,495 (October 2024)

Median rent: $1,395 (December 2024)

Incentives: The Tulsa Remote program offers a $10,000 grant to remote workers who relocate to the city. To qualify, you’ll need to have full-time remote employment outside of Oklahoma and have lived outside the state for at least a year before applying. Once approved, you’ll have to relocate to Tulsa within 12 months.

Learn more here.

Columbus, Georgia

Credit: Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Population: Approx. 200,000

Typical home value: $163,916 (October 2024)

Median rent: $995 (December 2024)

Incentives: Full-time remote workers who relocate to Columbus can receive $5,000 in cash toward relocation costs. The Move to Columbus Program is available to those who earn at least $75,000 from a single income source and live at least 75 miles outside of the city when they apply.

To be eligible for the full incentive, applicants need to complete their move to Muscogee County, Georgia, within 6 months of receiving an offer.

Applications for the program are set to reopen in January 2025.

The Shoals, Alabama

Alabama Music Hall of Fame Tuscumbia USA. (Photo by: Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Population: Approx. 155,000 in the metro area

Typical home value: $246,673 in Muscle Shoals (October 2024)

Median rent: $1,400 in Muscle Shoals (December 2024)

Incentives: Remote workers who make $52,000 or more per year can receive up to $10,000 for relocating to the Shoals metro area in Northwest Alabama. The Remote Shoals program is open to full-time remote workers who move to the region within six months of being selected.

The next round of applications opens on March 1, 2025.

The Shoals area includes Colbert and Lauderdale Counties, and the four main cities are Florence, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia.

Topeka, Kansas

Kansas State Capitol, Topeka, Kansas. (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Population: Approx. 125,000

Typical home value: $186,706 (October 2024)

Median rent: $950 (December 2024)

Incentives: New residents can receive up to $15,000 as part of the Choose Topeka program. The initiative offers on-site workers up to $10,000 if they rent in the area and up to $15,000 to those who buy a home. Transitioning military service members and former residents who return to the city are also eligible to receive $5,000.

To qualify, workers need to rent or purchase a home as their primary residence within a year of moving to Shawnee County.

Towns in West Virginia

Aerial drone panoramic shot of the downtown campus of WVU in Morgantown West Virginia showing the river in the distance

Typical home value: $268,416 in Morgantown, W.V. (Oct. 2024)

Median rent: $1,200 in Morgantown, W.V. (Dec. 2024)

Incentives: The Ascend WV program pays full-time remote workers $12,000 to relocate to five different communities across the Mountain State.

To receive the full incentive, applicants have to live in West Virginia for at least two consecutive years. Those who are accepted are expected to move within six months.

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