The Cities Offering Thousands of Dollars to Convince Workers to Move

What began as an experiment during the pandemic to lure people back to small towns and cities in the American heartland is, about five years later, becoming a widespread strategy. MakeMyMove, a platform for worker-relocation programs that launched in 2020 with around 20 programs, now features over 178 programs covering hundreds of cities and towns, according to co-founder Evan Hock. MakeMyMove relies on the continued prevalence of work that is fully remote, which peaked during the pandemic, but has remained stable since 2023, says Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist who studies the topic. According to Bloom, around 10 percent of the American workforce remains fully remote. Local governments are hoping these workers can help reverse decades of brain drain, though such programs offer no quick fix. To succeed, cities must move enough workers to have an economic impact, and invest resources to make sure the movers stay long term.

[August 9, 2025]