How this small town in Kansas is using competitive benefits to attract remote workers

Neodesha, Kan. may be a small town with a population of just over 2,000 residents, but it has big aspirations to become the prime destination for the remote workforce — and its residents and business leaders are committed to making it possible.     

"We viewed the pandemic as an opportunity," says Devin Johnson, the mayor of Neodesha and a native of the area. "A lot of people realized that the city wasn't everything it's cracked up to be when they fled from COVID." 

Unlike big metropolitan cities, which dealt with large-scale layoffs during the pandemic and were forced to follow strict health mandates during the height of the pandemic, smaller cities became more appealing: Businesses had to stay open to maintain their economy, and a less dense population also allowed for the continued use of green spaces and parks, as long as everyone maintained safe distances. Those perks drew in small amounts of people from surrounding areas at the time, which sparked a much larger conversation.   

"You don't get people to move from the city unless you can provide some sort of better quality of life," Johnson says. "But they'd already seen how life could be in small towns [during COVID], so we just had to ask ourselves: 'How do we take advantage of this long-term?'"

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First, the township partnered with MakeMyMove earlier this year, an online relocation marketplace, to better promote Neodesha to remote workers who are already searching for viable options. Through that process, it became clear that good marketing alone wouldn't be enough to convert a big enough demographic of remote workers and digital nomads. To successfully attract that workforce, the town's leadership would have to think outside the box when it came to incentives. 

"The people at MakeMyMove suggested we come up with a kind of benefits package," Johnson says. "We've spent the last five years figuring out what we were missing and how we could make all of the pieces fit."

Tax breaks and discounted child care

Since then, Johnson and other Neodesha elected officials have made significant changes. For employees coming in with remote jobs already, they've waived state income tax through 2026, offered property tax rebates, and memberships and subscriptions to local hot spots to incoming residents. To attract new talent, several local employers, including the hospitals and the manufacturers that operate out of Neodesha, have offered to pay 50% of employees' child care and are offering student loan repayment assistance up to $15,000. 

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"We take care of one another here and we have pride in our hometown," Johnson says. "It's easy to grab your kids and run off to Kansas City or Wichita — everything's there for you already. We wanted to take on that challenge and provide a better community and that's what I feel like we're doing." 

Johnson and his team aren't the only locals committed to Neodesha's rebranding, either. Businessmen Phil Griffith and Ben Cutler, former residents of the small town who have since built careers in the financial services industry, were the most recent additions to the rebranding project. The men were brought in specifically to invest in and oversee the addition of more housing, the renovation of historic buildings and the creation of an official retail and entertainment district to further attract more remote workers. 

Cutler believes it's equally as important to invest in the existing community, too, which is why their initiative has a strong focus on providing resources and learning and development opportunities for graduating students at Neodesha's high school. 

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"I always felt that I was very lucky to have grown up in a small rural community and I didn't really appreciate that until I was much older," he says. "It's been a few years since we first started talking about this effort and so far we're doing what we'd hoped we could for the community."

Now, according to Johnson, all that's left to do is wait and see if what they've done is enough to entice the employees that are either struggling with uncompromising RTO mandates, unhappy with their current offerings or simply looking for a change of scenery. So far, 400 people have liked or saved Neodesha's page on MakeMyMove's website, over 70,000 have visited the page and 34 of the 78 applicants have been marked as potential movers. 

Getting people to Neodesha may have been one of the motivators for the expansion incentives, perks and benefits, but it's not the only reason. Johnson believes that the support they're offering is critical for not just building a bigger workforce, but keeping it happy and productive — which is a mentality leaders everywhere should share. 

"There's an old saying which is to whom much is given, much is expected and that's kind of what we thrive on," Johnson says. "If somebody's willing to come to our community and provide for it, it's our turn to give back and do what we can in different ways."