As major cities continue to overcharge millennials, towns and counties in the Midwest are now giving financial incentives to entice young professionals.
The Community Foundation of St. Clair County, Mich., is actively working to combat the brain drain caused by homegrown students leaving for college and never coming back. This “talent retention initiative,” called the “Come Home Award,” offers young college graduates with a STEAM-related degree an incentive of up to $15,000 to pay off their student debt if they move back to St. Clair County.
Nearby Huron and Sanilac Counties are offering their own scholarships to try to bring back talent, too. Now, these three communities have inspired others to do the same.
The Community Foundation for Crawford County, Ohio, awards its own Come Home Scholarship of $10,000 to graduates who return to establish their careers. Crawford is serious about keeping educated millennials around. Their strategic plan, written in 2010, outlines the need to curb outmigration of individuals under 45 as the tax base steadily erodes.
Grant County, Ill., offers up to $5,000 toward a down payment on a house or a 20 percent reduction in monthly rent payments for graduates choosing to live and work in the community.
The small town of Marne, Iowa, with a population of 120 people, is giving away free lots to anyone who wants to build a 1200-square-foot home. Curtis, Neb.,and Lincoln, Kan., are doing the same.
Some employers in Detroit, Mich., are even offering incentives directly to their employees, including a $20,000 forgivable loan toward the purchase of their primary residence.
The state of Kansas is offering tax waivers and student loan reimbursements to attract new residents. More than 75 counties in Kansas participate in the Rural Opportunity Zones program, which offer either income tax waivers for five years or student loan repayments up to $15,000.
Millennials are increasingly ditching the high cost of living in metropolitan areas in favor of the Midwest. According to Jed Kolko, an economist and writer, population growth in big cities has now fallen for five consecutive years.
Take New York City, for example. The Big Apple is a popular destination for “young, upwardly mobile Millennials who have graduated from top colleges and don’t yet have families with children,” explains Atlantic writer Derek Thompson. “But since it’s expensive, chaotic, and mostly lawn-free, it’s not a great place for middle class families who dream of an affordable house, car, and yard.”
Others are leaving states with slow-moving economies and lousy job markets. Illinois actually lost 148,000 millennials in 2014 to states like Wisconsin, who are actively poaching this younger demographic.
As Midwestern states aggressively try to sell millennials on incentives like free cash, free land, and job opportunities, other suffering states are taking note. Vermont will soon offer grants of $10,000 to remote workers who choose to relocate to the state.
