Many U.S. cities now offer financial incentive programs to woo new residents to move to their communities. A new ranking identifies which cities are doing the best job.
Hamilton, Ohio city officials hope to bring in new college graduates to offset its dearth of skilled laborers through its Talent Attraction Program Scholarship. The program offers $5,000 to new residents to help pay off student loan debt. The scholarship is paid in installments of $200 per month for up to 25 months to applicants living in select areas of the city, and can show proof of employment in Hamilton, Realtor.com reports. The city has one of the lowest median home prices of the list of seven cities at $160,000.
Would you move to a new city or town if it was willing to hand you $10,000 just for showing up? According to a new report on Livability, such incentives are surprisingly common across the United States. Um, what's the catch? The only catch, if you could call it that, is that these areas are typically plagued with a dwindling or aging population. As Livability explains, "As baby boomers leave the workforce and the demand for skilled workers rises, some cities and states are facing an unexpected situation: They need more residents, and fast."
