Incentive programs aim to bring in rural workers; amenities like broadband access can help them succeed

The coronavirus pandemic prompted many Americans to leave cities for a more rural life. Savvy rural areas have taken advantage of the trend by launching or reviving incentive programs to lure remote workers.

"While major cities, like Tulsa, Oklahoma, or Topeka, Kansas, may have the most notoriety when it comes to remote worker incentive programs, smaller, more rural communities from Curtis, Nebraska, to Greensburg, Indiana, are taking note," Kristi Eaton reports for The Daily Yonder. "In some cases, the programs have been around even longer than the more well-known programs, but have gone dormant and are now resurging due to the effects of the pandemic and workers’ interest in living outside large cities."

While urban or state programs tend to offer large cash payments as incentives, rural programs are more likely to offer reimbursements or free land for buyers to develop. "For example, in Newton, Iowa, The Newton Housing Initiative, approved by the City Council in 2014, allows for a $10,000 cash incentive for homes valued at $190,000 or more," Eaton reports. "And in Kansas, the Rural Opportunity Zones program offers student loan repayment assistance or state income tax credit."

Several key factors make for the most successful programs, according to assistant professor of research Emily Wornell at Ball State University's Center for Local and State Policy. Rural areas with reliable, affordable broadband access will likely do better since remote workers commonly rely on it. Amenities such as local grocery store also help bring in new residents, she said. "It’s going to be in the communities that have the kind of quality of life infrastructure already developed, or starting to be developed, that people are going to want to take advantage of," Wornell told Eaton.