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By Sophie Clark
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An Indianapolis-based company is collaborating with local governments and economic development agencies to pay remote workers to relocate to Indiana.
MakeMyMove is a website and marketplace that offers generous financial packages and other perks, such as sports tickets and networking events, to fully remote workers looking for a change of pace.
Although MakeMyMove is based in Indiana, its website lists cash incentives for several other states and the Caribbean.
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Why It Matters
According to Matt Kinghorn, senior demographer for the Indiana Business Research Center at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, migration will be the state's only source of growth by 2060.
The enticing financial rewards offered by local governments on MakeMyMove are intended to fight this decline and boost local economies. Currently, the company has relocated over 600 households with a median income of $100,000 to Indiana, hoping to turn economic downturns around.
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What To Know
Indiana has declining population growth and life expectancy due to fewer births in the state and an increase in drug overdoses. The state's life expectancy peaked in 2010, slightly rising again post-pandemic. Within 10 years, one-fifth of residents will be seniors.
Some growth has been noted in big cities, but rural communities are set to see a "sharp decline" in under-20s.
According to a 2024 study from Indiana University, "Any growth in the working-age population will occur in metro areas or nearer to them. And this is contingent on people moving to Indiana."
Kinghorn spoke with Newsweek about the impact MakeMyMove and similar companies could have on the state.
"I think it's nothing but a positive that so many Indiana communities—with some financial support from the State of Indiana—are using a platform like MakeMyMove to offer incentives to attract new residents from other states," he said. "The time is right for this kind of approach given the growing acceptance of remote work arrangements and the relative cost-of-living advantage that so many Hoosier communities offer.
"The latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 73 of Indiana's 92 counties added population in 2024. This is the largest number of Indiana counties to show annual growth since 1997, so I think it's clear that more and more people are casting a wider net when considering where to settle."
Indiana offers financial incentives to move to the state. However, it does not allow undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, to receive in-state tuition rates and financial aid benefits.
To qualify for a MakeMyMove offer, people must be fully remote workers. The company also has links to signing bonuses for police officers, nurses and teachers looking to move.
The company also helps connect remote workers' spouses with local employers so they can find jobs in their new community.
Carol Rogers, director of the Indiana Business Research Center at the IU Kelley School of Business, told Newsweek that as of right now any data on the effectiveness of programs like MakeMyMove is anecdotal, but added: "What we do know is that individual communities that have adopted this approach are reporting positive incomes and that other communities are taking notice."
She said that Indiana also needs to focus on good-paying jobs and competitive wages now that more people are being told to return to the office and end remote work.
"As long as Indiana businesses can offer sufficiently competitive wages it will see people move into the state—often from nearby states, but also coastal states where the cost of living is significantly higher," Rogers said. "Individuals will make these decisions, unless a company relocating to Indiana brings their existing workers with them."
What People Are Saying
Matthew Kinghorn, Indiana Business Research Center: "Our projections show sharp decline in natural increase over the next 40 years and that [Indiana] will begin to see a natural decrease of the population—with deaths outnumbering births—beginning in the 2040s. In-migration will become Indiana's sole source of growth."
MakeMyMove: "New residents mean growth, economically and culturally. Leaders are recognizing this opportunity, and assembling relocation programs that make the moves a little easier, and integrate new residents into the community."
Carol Rogers told Newsweek: "Indiana, like other states, is in fierce competition to retain and attract people – it isn't the only state facing population declines for young adults. Individual incentives such as MakeMyMove can help, but communities shouldn't leave out the folks who already live there. One of Indiana's hidden strengths is its attraction of freshman college students – and the challenge of keeping those students here after graduation. Indiana is consistently in the top tier of states importing college students...but we don't seem to keep them here."
What Happens Next?
Financial incentives to move to new places appear popular among remote workers. However, with the federal government's current mandate to return to office, the future of entirely remote work in both the public and private sector is in question.
Update 3/14/25, 10:37 a.m. ET: This story was updated to include comment from Carol Rogers and Matthew Kinghorn.
Correction 3/14/25, 10:37 a.m. ET: This story was also corrected to clarify that Indiana is currently experiencing a population growth decline.
Correction 3/14/25, 1:16 p.m. ET: This story corrected the spelling of Carol Rogers' name.
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