Submitted by Market Crumbs,
When you think of Tulsa, Oklahoma, you may not think it's becoming a hotbed for coworking spaces filled with young professionals working remotely. The landlocked city with a population of about 400,000 people is often referred to as the "Oil Capital of the World."
Thanks to a program called Tulsa Remote, that's exactly what is happening.
The program, which is funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation - an influential Tulsa-based philanthropy, is attracting people to Tulsa by paying them $10,000 in cash, providing desk space and offering other perks. The program is one of the first of its kind in the U.S., with similar ones implemented in Vermont, Alabama and Kansas.
After seeing its population peak in 2016, Tulsa Remote is seen as a way to lure in talent to help reverse the declining population and boost the city's economy.
"The last few years have been the slowest population growth [in the state] since the late ‘80s, early ‘90s," said Chad Wilkerson, branch executive of the Kansas City Fed’s Oklahoma City Branch office. "A good amount of it is driven by the downturn of the energy sector in 2014 and 2015, and people seeking jobs elsewhere."
Tulsa Remote is touting the city's cost of living as its selling point to attract people from expensive coastal cities. The median home price in Tulsa is $157,200—43% below the national average, while the average rent for a 2 bedroom apartment is $658 per month.
Tulsa Remote's website even compares Tulsa's cost of living to popular coastal cities that are facing affordability crises. Compared to San Francisco, the cost of living in Tulsa is 50% lower with the median home price 83% lower. Compared to Seattle, the cost of living and median home price in Tulsa are 38% and 68% lower, respectively. Compared to New York, the cost of living in Tulsa is a staggering 61% lower with the median home price 60% lower.
"The citizens of Tulsa have invested substantial public funds to build the types of things that we believe make Tulsa a more appealing place for a new generation of workers," said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum."And the Tulsa Remote program is really a great way to introduce the very kinds of workers that we’re hoping to appeal to, to the city that we’ve been building for the last decade to appeal to them."
Given some of the fastest-growing cities in the country are in states such as Texas, Arizona and Nevada, Tulsa Remote knows exactly what it's doing by literally paying people to come work in a place that is significantly cheaper than most cities. Given Tulsa Remote is now accepting more workers than it did when it began in November 2018, it won't be surprising to see more cities across the country introduce similar programs.
