US relocation grants draw remote workers to smaller cities

Cash incentives are helping some US workers move from expensive cities to smaller communities, where housing and household costs can be lower. BBC News reports that recipients have gained financial security but also faced fewer amenities, car dependence and the challenge of leaving friends and family.

Relocation schemes offering cash and other benefits are encouraging some remote workers to leave expensive US cities for smaller communities. BBC News reports that the programmes are designed to attract residents, support population growth and strengthen local economies.

Brianna Beyrouti moved with her two children from Portland, Oregon, to Muncie, Indiana, after receiving $5,000 towards the cost of relocating. She said she had been living paycheque to paycheque in Portland, where she rented an apartment for $1,290 a month. In Muncie, she bought a detached home while continuing to work remotely for the same bank on an annual salary of $107,000.

According to BBC News, Beyrouti’s monthly mortgage, home insurance and property tax total $1,100. Lower state income tax, car insurance and energy bills have left her about $600 a month better off, she said. The move has also enabled her to take her children on holiday and become a homeowner. She described her quality of life as having increased “dramatically”.

Muncie’s population reached 65,466 last year, official figures cited by BBC News showed, up from 65,194 in 2020 but below its 1990 level of 71,828. The city offers the payment through MakeMyMove, a website listing relocation programmes run by towns and small cities. Other incentives include cinema tickets, restaurant vouchers and free bottles of wine. BBC News said about 100 families had moved to Muncie through the programme, while MakeMyMove reported helping 1,000 people relocate across the US last year.

Elena Chrysostomou moved in 2024 from San Diego, California, to Jacksonville, Illinois, with support from a $5,000 payment and a $4,000 package including gym memberships and golf passes. BBC News reports that she went from paying $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom rental to owning a three-bedroom home with a $1,868 mortgage; her salary also rose after she changed jobs.

Both women told BBC News that smaller-town life had drawbacks, including fewer activities and restaurants, separation from friends and family, and greater reliance on cars. Beyrouti also said moving had made settling her children into new schools difficult. Nevertheless, both said they had no regrets about trading city life for lower costs and greater housing security.