Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Relocation Program: A City Saver?

What is Tulsa, Oklahoma’s relocation program? Could it be a solution to the US’s brain drain problem? What challenges do cities face managing such initiatives?

As cities across the United States lose talented workers to coastal hubs, Tulsa, Oklahoma is testing a solution with promising early results: paying remote workers $10,000 to relocate. After initial promise, other cities around the US are starting to follow Tulsa’s example.

Keep reading to learn about Tulsa’s relocation program and what it could mean for the city, and others like it.

Tulsa Is Paying Workers to Relocate

In the United States, brain drain has traditionally meant the loss of skilled workers from smaller cities and regions to major coastal hubs. However, remote work offers a potential solution to this problem. 

For context, brain drain refers to the migration of educated and skilled individuals from one country or region to another in search of better opportunities, resulting in a loss of human capital that can impede economic growth.

Tulsa, Oklahoma exemplifies both the challenge of brain drain and potential of remote work to address it. From 2015 to 2019, the city lost roughly 1,000 college-educated people annually, while those moving to Oklahoma were mostly over 45 and earned below the state’s average income. The rise of remote work offered a new possibility to reverse this trend.

Details of Tulsa’s Experiment

Tulsa’s relocation program for reversing brain drain emerged from an unexpected source: Teach for America. City officials noticed that some teachers who moved to Tulsa for the program’s two-year commitment chose to stay permanently.

Acting on this insight, in 2019 the city launched Tulsa Remote, a program that offers $10,000 to workers willing to relocate and stay in Tulsa for at least a year. The initiative selects applicants who show interest not just in the financial incentive but in community engagement through volunteering or entrepreneurship. It now brings in 30 to 70 new workers each month, having attracted 3,300 total since its inception.

A recent analysis of Tulsa Remote by researchers from Harvard and other universities suggests the initiative is countering the city’s brain drain problem: 

• The program has generated $14.9 million in annual income tax and $5.8 million in sales tax revenue, with every dollar spent creating roughly $13 in economic benefits.
• Nearly 75% of participants who completed the program have stayed in Tulsa.  
• Roughly 20% of participants have launched their own local businesses, 11% have joined local boards and 4% have founded new nonprofits.
• The program has encouraged collaboration between participants and local residents to generate 125 proposals for new community-focused businesses, 31 of which are actively pursuing funding.
• Participants earn an average salary of $100,000 and contribute significantly to the local economy. They also save about $25,000 annually on housing compared to people who are accepted into, but choose not to enter, the program.

Unexpected Challenges 

While Tulsa Remote participants benefit from significant housing savings compared to coastal cities, local prices are rising faster than the national average, raising concerns about long-term affordability and potential gentrification. However, researchers note that with 3,300 new workers in a city of one million people, the program hasn’t yet significantly affected local housing costs.

Following Tulsa’s Lead

Cities across the US are following Tulsa’s lead, launching their own programs to attract remote workers and reverse brain drain. From Topeka, Kansas to Noblesville, Indiana, these initiatives offer financial incentives ranging from $5,000 to $12,000, often pairing them with community perks and amenities. 

Experts caution that as these programs expand, cities must carefully manage growth to prevent the displacement of existing residents in vulnerable neighborhoods. Tulsa’s approach on this front—which includes educating participants about housing choices, requiring Realtors to complete equity training, and controlling program size—may be a useful model for other cities working to combat brain drain while protecting local communities.

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