A small Kansas town is making a big bet on its future—by giving people an offer too good to ignore.
Neodesha, a town of just 2,100 residents, sits 100 miles from Wichita, Topeka, and Tulsa. Once a thriving oil boomtown—home to the first commercial well west of the Mississippi, marked by a towering 65-foot derrick—Neodesha has spent decades in decline since its Standard Oil refinery shut down in 1971.
“The population was cut in half overnight,” Mayor Devin Johnson told CNBC, describing the town’s slow fade from the map.
“We have seen that decline as every small community has over the last 50 years. The thing with small communities is, if you are not growing, you are dying.”
Now, Neodesha is fighting back with an aggressive relocation package, partnering with MakeMyMove, a digital platform that connects workers with towns eager for new life.
The deal? Move to Neodesha and enjoy:
✅ No state income tax through 2026
✅ Property tax rebates
✅ Free or subsidized child care for working parents
✅ Up to $15,000 in student loan relief
✅ Free college tuition for local high school graduates through the Neodesha Promise program
Since 2020, hometown philanthropist Ben Cutler has been funding the Neodesha Promise scholarship, which covers tuition at colleges and trade schools nationwide. “We’ve awarded over $1 million in scholarships, and I feel like we are helping the community and making real progress,” Cutler said.
The plan is already working—since launching in 2024, over 30 newcomers have committed to relocating, says MakeMyMove co-founder and COO Evan Hock. The town is also investing in new housing, duplexes, and retail development while restoring its historic Main Street buildings.
“We have to cherish what we’ve got while making sure Neodesha is an attractive place for people to come,” Johnson said.
Neodesha is part of a growing trend of small towns using financial incentives to lure new residents. Topeka, Kansas, is offering up to $15,000 for homebuyers, West Virginia is giving transplants $12,000 plus perks, and Alabama’s Shoals region is handing out $10,000 to remote workers.
“This is a cost-effective way to do economic development,” Hock explained, adding that towns often recoup their investment within a year. But, he emphasized, “Incentives are not the reason people actually move.”
Instead, it’s the affordability and community spirit that seal the deal.
“They are looking for quality of place, they want a community connection,” Hock said.
The data backs it up—United Van Lines’ 2024 study shows a mass migration from expensive cities like New York, LA, and Chicago to affordable Midwest and Southern towns.
Kaitlyn Sundberg, 27, is one of those transplants. She and her husband, Jack, left Southern California after getting priced out.
“We were living with my in-laws, and we were not able to afford anything,” she said. But after Jack landed a job in Neodesha, they took a trip to check it out.
“We spent a Saturday looking for a house—there were kids riding bikes. I just cried,” she recalled.
Now, 18 months later, she’s running the town’s new early learning center.
“Being away from family is the hardest part,” Sundberg admitted, “but I would never want to move back.
See photos inside
