Some cities faced with sluggish population growth are making an enticing offer to consumers: They’ll pay new residents—up to $10,000 in some cases—to make the city their new home. Such incentives are growing more common, according to a new report from Livability. The various metros are hoping to attract new residents to relocate and help them revitalize their economies.
Cities are coming with abundant offers too, from paying off student loans to handing out free plots of land. Here are some of the cities making offers:
- Burlington, Vt.: Vermont is willing to pay new residents up to $10,000 toward moving expenses, as well as a computer and a co-working space for those who move to the state and work remotely.
- Marne, Iowa: Marne officials are offering new residents a free plot of land in the town, which is located between Omaha and Des Moines. The free lots average 80 feet by 120 feet. New residents can use the land to build a conventional or modular home.
- New Haven, Conn.: New Haven offers up to $80,000 in incentives for new homeowners, including $30,000 for energy saving home upgrades; $10,000 in interest-free loans for first-time buyers to use as a down payment; and $40,000 for college tuition to any in-state college for kids who graduate from New Haven public schools.
- Baltimore: The Buying Into Baltimore program offers $5,000 to those relocating anywhere in the city. For those who also work in the city, they’ll throw in another $5,000 toward a first home. For those who buy a fixer-upper through the city’s Vacants to Value Booster program, they’ll receive up to $10,000 to purchase a vacant home and renovate it.
- Harmony, Minn.: The city is offering up to $12,000 in cash for new residents who decide to build a home there.
- Hamilton, Ohio: The Ohio metro is offering up to $5,000 to new residents toward their student loans. Applicants are required to then live in the city’s urban core and show proof of employment in the greater Hamilton area.
- Ludington, Mich.: Small-business owners may be lured to Ludington’s annual contest that awards an entrepreneur with $50,000 for their startup idea. The winner of its Momentum Business Plan Competition is then required to locate their business to Mason County.
Source:
“7 Cities That Will Actually Pay You to Move There,” Livability.com (July 16, 2018)
