The Gen Z workers paid $10,000 to move to Middle America

Miller Karns loves working in emergency management. So, when a promotion opportunity came, the 24-year-old didn’t hesitate to take it– even though it meant relocating from the vast city of Fort Worth, Texas, to tiny Minneapolis (named after the much bigger city) in rural Kansas. There are some things Karns misses about living in an urban sprawl of eight million people. But there’s plenty he likes about living in a town of fewer than 2,000, too. His previous 50-minute commute has been replaced by a short walk to work, and the noise and intensity of his overnight job at the world’s fourth-busiest airport has gone. Not that the work is quiet. The first night Karns arrived to take up the job as emergency management director for Ottawa County (in which Minneapolis resides), the area experienced 100mph storms. “Most emergency managers have to wait years for something like that,” he told The i Paper. He felt that something was telling him he’d made the right move. Shorts Karns joins countless younger Americans who are relocating from places such as New York and Los Angeles to smaller towns and cities in the heartland, which is often sniffed at by the coastal elites as “flyover country”. Millions of people are making such a move. Often, they’re paid incentives of up to $10,000 to do so. Increasingly, such moves are assisted by economic development teams in these areas, who have seen what happened in places like North Dakota when industry dies and younger people seek their fortune elsewhere. And indeed, as well as being impressed by the pride the town took in keeping itself clean and well maintained, Karns appreciated the warm welcome he received from local authorities, which included financial relocation assistance of $6,000 and other perks and benefits including vouchers for local restaurants – given to all new arrivals, but particularly valuable for younger people. Miller Karns has swapped a 50-minute commute to a pressured overnight job for a walk to work as Ottawa County’s emergency management director Last year, 15 million people made a move like his, driven primarily by the soaring cost of housing in larger cities, according to a report by storage company Stora. It found 88 per cent said they were moving to find a more affordable place to live, while 76 per cent were also attracted to rural America’s easier access to nature. These new arrivals – some only in their 20s – are helping counter the notion that rural America is dead, says Benjamin Winchester, a rural sociologist and demographer at the University of Minnesota. For three decades he’s traced the movement of people into smaller towns, and the economic benefits that he calls a “brain gain” from the need for more grocery stores, schools and coffee shops. Many “zoom towns” – such as Bend, Oregon and Bozeman, Montana – were established during the pandemic by people, often under 30, being able to work remotely. “There’s a pretty heavy narrative out there that rural communities are dying and our best days are behind us,” Winchester told The i Paper. “The data I see doesn’t really tell that. Since the 1970s, there’s been a regular pattern of people in their thirties, forties and fifties moving in.” Young couples starting new lives Sarah Geltmacher and her husband Tyler, both 31, moved from Peoria, Illinois, to Brookings, South Dakota, five years ago – a city with less than a quarter of the population. They moved so Tyler could study natural resource management at South Dakota State University, but Geltmacher now has two jobs and they’ve developed a wide circle of friends. She says she likes the fact that she can “get anywhere in five minutes”. “I live very close to where I work, so I don’t have a commute,” she said. “The grocery store is a few blocks away. I ride my bike to work. I never could have done those things in Peoria.” If there is a downside, it is that Brookings – population 25,000 – has fewer regular concerts or artistic events. There are also fewer services and stores, though they can drive to places like Sioux Falls, the state’s most populous city, 60 miles away. “It’s definitely challenged me to be a more resourceful person,” said Geltmacher. Sarah and Tyler Geltmacher decided to move to Brookings, South Dakota, permanently rather than commute back to their previous home at the end of each university term The report by Stora found South Dakota topping the list of places people moved to in 2025. A net total of 11,000 people headed there, representing an increase of 9.5 per cent. Other popular locations included Georgia, Ohio, Nebraska and Mississippi. The report said the average home in South Dakota was $310,014 (£230 586) compared with the national average of $357,275 (£265,738). There is no state income tax. The Mayor of Brookings, Oepke “Ope” Niemeyer, has worked with the council to develop the town, persuading the large chains Aldi and Target to open locations. While the famous Black Hills in the west of the state are popular with retirees, he said, cities such as his are attracting a younger demographic. “We have a lot of young couples moving to Brookings. Our quality of life is very good,” he added. “We are one of the safest cities in the United States. We haven’t had a murder for decades and we’re proud of that.” ‘First-date’ tourism Erik Osberg has the title of Rural Rebound Initiative Coordinator for Otter Tail County in rural Minnesota. Since Otter Tail County is a popular tourist destination, one of Osberg’s tactics is to encourage visitors to think about what it might be like to live there full time. “We position tourism as a first date,” he said. “You don’t walk up to somebody and say, ‘Hey, do you want to get married?’ You walk up to somebody and say, ‘Hey, do you want to go to a movie?’” His team often invites student athletes from the city of Minneapolis to visit and takes them to lunch or fishing. “We expose them to what we call ‘lake life’,” Osberg said. “I’m not saying any of those students will move here, but we’ve changed their perception of what rural life could be.” Smaller communities often seek the help of professionals who act as a “match-maker”, connecting younger people looking to move with job vacancies. In the decade since Evan Hock, CEO of MakeMyMove, started his company, he has worked with 200 small and rural communities across America and helped 5,000 families to move. “It’s actually a pretty good deal for the communities. They’ll usually spend $5,000 to $10,000 on the incentives to attract them,” he said. “These workers come in; they either bring their job or take a job. They’re going to pay taxes. They’re going to buy a home. They’re expanding the local economy. They’re really valuable to these new communities.” Betsy Roder, 47, who returned to her childhood home in Otter Tail County aged 32 after a decade working in the city of Minneapolis, has some advice for new, young arrivals. “Once you decide to make a move, get engaged right away,” she said. “Join a club, run for city council, find a church, visit the local places, get involved with the school. Small towns are always looking for active, engaged citizens and the more you get involved, the more you will meet people and find belonging.”