A handful of states and cities will pay you to move there, through cash relocation grants, student loan repayment, free residential lots, tax credits, and in Alaska’s case an annual dividend sent to nearly every resident. Payments range from a few thousand dollars to more than $20,000 when you combine incentives, and almost all of them come with residency commitments, employment conditions, or construction requirements you need to understand before you pack.
Alaska Pays Every Qualifying Resident
Alaska is the only state that cuts a check to virtually all of its residents each year. The Permanent Fund Dividend is funded by investment earnings on the state’s oil and mineral royalties. The 2025 dividend was $1,000 per person.1State of Alaska: Department of Revenue. Permanent Fund Dividend A family of four all qualifying in the same year collects four separate payments.
Qualifying is not casual. You must have been an Alaska resident for the entire prior calendar year, and you need to have been physically present in the state for at least 72 consecutive hours during one of the two preceding years.2State of Alaska: Department of Revenue. Eligibility Requirements – Permanent Fund Dividend You can be out of state for up to 180 days in a calendar year for any reason without losing eligibility, with additional allowable absences for military service, education, and medical treatment.3State of Alaska: Department of Revenue. Absence Guidelines – Permanent Fund Dividend You also need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Alaska has no state income tax, which makes the dividend slightly more efficient than grants paid by states that do tax income. The dividend itself is still federally taxable.
Cities That Pay Remote Workers to Relocate
Several city and state programs now pay remote workers directly to bring their existing jobs to a new community. Most are competitive, and most require at least a year of continuous residency.
Tulsa Remote, Oklahoma
Tulsa Remote offers a $10,000 grant to selected remote workers who move to Tulsa.4George Kaiser Family Foundation. Tulsa Remote The money is typically split between an upfront relocation payment, monthly stipends, and a lump sum paid out after one year. The program launched in 2018 and reports a 74% retention rate among participants who complete their program year. Applications are screened, and preference goes to higher-salary workers in fields like technology, though the program does not publish a hard minimum income.
Ascend West Virginia
Ascend WV pays $12,000 in cash to selected remote workers who move to a participating West Virginia community, along with free outdoor recreation experiences, gear rentals, and a welcome trip valued at more than $2,500.5Ascend WV. Ascend WV The program also provides free coworking space. In 2024, Ascend WV added a separate homeownership incentive: current program members who buy a home in the state can receive an additional $12,000.6Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative | West Virginia University. Ascend WV Announces West Virginia Homeownership Incentive Combined, that pushes total available incentives past $20,000 for participants who relocate and buy.
Choose Topeka, Kansas
Choose Topeka offers up to $15,000 for people who relocate and purchase a home, or up to $10,000 for renters signing a one-year lease.7Greater Topeka Partnership. Apply – Choose Topeka The structure is an employer-match: your new or current employer puts up half and the program matches it. A separate “Boomerang” track pays $5,000 to former residents who return, with a matching $5,000 incentive for transitioning military service members.
Vermont Worker Relocation Incentive
Vermont’s Worker Relocation Incentive Program provides grants of up to $7,500 to both new workers who take a Vermont job and remote workers bringing an existing job with them.8Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Worker Relocation Incentive Program Application Now Open Unlike programs that focus on tech workers, Vermont’s is open to all occupations.
Student Loan Repayment and Tax Credit Programs
Some states skip the lump-sum check and reduce your student debt or your state tax bill instead. For recent graduates, these can be worth more over time than a single grant.
Kansas Rural Opportunity Zones
Kansas designates counties with populations of 40,000 or fewer as Rural Opportunity Zones.9Justia Law. Kansas Statutes 74-50,222 – Rural Opportunity Zones, Definitions If you move to a participating county and keep full-time residency, the state and county split the cost of repaying your student loans, paying 20% of your outstanding balance each year over five years, up to a $15,000 total.10Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Statutes 74-50,223 – Same; County Participation, Procedures; Resident Individuals, Payment of Outstanding Student Loan Balances Not every eligible county opts in. Confirm with the Kansas Department of Commerce that your target county is currently participating before you commit.
Maine Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit
Maine offers a refundable tax credit for student loan payments made by residents who hold an associate, bachelor’s, or graduate degree.11Maine Revenue Services. Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit The credit replaced the earlier Educational Opportunity Tax Credit starting in 2022. Because it is refundable, if the credit is larger than your state income tax, Maine pays you the difference. The amount depends on your degree level, graduation year, and loan payments during the tax year.
Homeownership and Free Land Offers
Some of the largest incentives come through real estate: free lots, down-payment help, and property tax abatements that compound over years.
A number of rural municipalities offer free residential lots to people who commit to building a home within a set window. Expect minimum square footage requirements, a construction deadline (often 12 to 24 months), and deed restrictions that keep you from flipping the property for several years. Cities in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Minnesota have run programs like this to fill empty lots. The land is free, but you still pay for construction, permitting, and utility connections. “Free” means free dirt.
Programs aimed at buyers of existing homes sometimes pay cash. Newton, Iowa has offered up to $10,000 for buyers of newly built, owner-occupied homes valued at $240,000 or more. Pawnee City, Nebraska has run a program providing $50,000 in down-payment assistance structured as a zero-interest, no-payment second mortgage. These change often and some close as soon as the funding runs out, so confirm a program is still accepting applications before you move.
Property tax abatements reduce what you owe each year on a new or renovated home, often for five to ten years. A ten-year abatement on new construction in a revitalization zone can easily save $20,000 or more in carrying costs depending on local rates. They phase out, so factor in what the full bill looks like once the abatement ends.
What You Actually Keep After Taxes
Relocation grants are almost always taxable income. Federal law defines gross income as “all income from whatever source derived,” and that sweeps in cash grants, stipends, and bonuses from relocation programs.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 61 – Gross Income Defined Expect a 1099 for any grant you receive.
The old moving expense deduction will not cushion the hit for most people. Starting in 2026, the exclusion for qualified moving expense reimbursements is permanently eliminated except for active-duty military members moving under orders and certain intelligence community employees.13Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15-B (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits You cannot deduct the cost of the move itself to offset the grant.
Run the math before you accept. A $10,000 grant for someone in the 22% federal bracket costs roughly $2,200 in federal tax, plus any state income tax. Setting aside 25% to 30% of any grant for taxes is a reasonable rule of thumb.
Qualifying and Applying
Every program runs its own application, but the same requirements show up repeatedly. Having these ready saves weeks after you start the paperwork.
- U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is standard. A few programs, including Tulsa Remote, accept anyone eligible to work in the U.S., which can include certain visa holders.
- Proof of out-of-state residency: utility bills, a prior lease, or recent tax returns showing where you live now.
- Remote employment verification: a letter from your employer confirming full-time status, salary, and a fully remote role. Some programs run independent income checks.
- A minimum residency commitment, typically twelve months. Leaving early usually triggers a repayment clause for part or all of the grant.
- Authorization for a criminal background check. Disqualifying offenses vary and are rarely published; ask the program directly if you have concerns about your record.
- For loan repayment programs, official transcripts and current loan balance statements from your servicer.
Applications go through online portals run by the program, a local economic development group, or a state agency like a Department of Commerce. Competitive programs review in rounds, and eligibility does not guarantee selection. Applying early in a funding cycle and showing genuine interest in the community generally carries more weight than meeting the minimum bar.