On January 1, 2019, Vermont will begin its new program offering $10,000 worth of tax credits to remote workers who move to the state.

Employees aren't the only ones Vermont is trying to draw to its rolling hills: Companies that move to Vermont can get up to $125,000 in total credits in 2019 and up to $250,000 in 2020 to cover relocation costs, equipment expenses, broadband updates and employee membership fees for co-working spaces.

Remote workers are an extra driving force encouraging states, cities, and even countries to compete with each other. Money follows remote workers to their new state or city, instead of coming from the pool of jobs which already exist in that jurisdiction. When that new resident spends money on rent, food, entertainment, and so on, it is a net gain for the state.

As more and more people work remotely, expect better and better deals from states and cities.

Already digital nomads are driving this trend forward, constantly voting with their feet.

Cities, states, and countries compete every day for residents. Based on taxes, laws, regulations, ease of doing business, corruption, cost of living and so much more, different locations can attract residents by being more friendly places to live and work.

But more and more jurisdictions are actively taking this competition to the residents they want to attract. Low taxes and rich culture are great… but money talks.

To try to keep educated young people in the state, Maine will slash your tax bill by the amount you pay each year in student loans if you graduated between 2007 and 2016. So if you pay $2000 for student loans, and your tax bill is $3000, Maine will only charge $1000. They even offer this to people who graduated from college after 2015 outside of  Maine and relocate to the state.

Candela, a town in Italy with a dwindling population, offers up to $2,350 for a family or $950 for singles to move to the historic medieval town.

Towns in Kansas and Nebraska offer free plots of land to anyone who agrees to build a house.

New Haven, Connecticut offers generous cash incentives for new homeowners.

And Baltimore, Maryland holds a lottery to give out 30 $5,000 awards each year towards buying homes. Another program offers $10,000 for buying distressed properties.