Five years after Tulsa started paying remote workers to move there, most haven’t left

In 2018, the city of Tulsa made a prescient decision to pay remote workers $10,000 for moving there.

“We kind of placed a bet on remote workers coming and adding to the exciting things that were happening in Tulsa,” Justin Harlan, managing director of Tulsa Remote, which is funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, told HR Brew.

Of course, no one could quite have predicted what happened in the ensuing years. With more employees able to work remotely due to Covid-19, interest in Tulsa Remote grew significantly. Twenty-thousand workers applied to the program in 2020 and 350 were accepted, up from 70 program participants the year prior, according to Harlan. In 2021, the program welcomed 950 remote workers.

A recent study published by the program finds most members of Tulsa Remote have stuck around, generating millions of dollars in estimated employment income and sales tax revenue for the city.

Finding community. Just over 2,400 remote workers have moved to Tulsa through the relocation program since 2019, Harlan said. Over three-quarters (76%) of Tulsa Remote participants who had joined and completed the year-long program still lived there as of the end of 2022, the study found.

Harlan said the program aims to get participants plugged into the community quickly after they arrive, with programming that includes monthly events focused on socializing, volunteering, and professional development. Participants also receive access to a coworking space for 36 months.

“I think there’s something incredibly attractive, especially for folks that are working in remote jobs that often can feel isolating, to come to a place where they do feel that connection, and have an opportunity to be thrown into a community right away,” Harlan said.

Beyond retention rates, Tulsa Remote is also looking at the program’s economic impact to gauge its success. The study estimates that Tulsa Remote members have generated $306.7 million in direct employment income since the program began, and that their economic activity has helped Tulsa County bring in $2.5 million in new sales tax revenue.

The focus on economic impact also means Tulsa Remote is considering salary as a factor when workers apply for the program. Harlan didn’t share the minimum salary the program looks for from applicants, but said, “We really try not to make somebody reliant on that $10,000 as a primary source of income to enjoy a quality of life.”

RTO implications. In recent months, more HR departments have started calling workers back into the office, and job listings for remote positions have declined.

The push for RTO, “certainly changes our recruitment model, and maybe lessens that target market,” said Harlan. But he argued there are still plenty of remote workers who can benefit from what Tulsa has to offer, including affordability.

Sixty percent of full-time employees reported being stressed about their finances this year, according to a survey by PwC, a slightly higher share than during the height of the pandemic. This financial stress takes a toll on employee engagement, as workers who were stressed about their finances were less likely to report feeling energized or recommending their company as a great place to work.

As HR leaders seek to help employees alleviate financial stress, programs like Tulsa’s—which now also exist in cities including Rochester, NY, and Bloomington, Indiana—are one option, provided the company supports fully remote work. A separate study published by the Brookings Institute last September found that Tulsa Remote participants saw an increase in real income that was $26,500 larger compared to accepted applicants who had yet to move to the city.