Communities lure young residents with a special offer

The tough economy has given some communities another way to lure new residents: Offer to pay their student loans. As ABC News reports, with college and other student debt at record levels, officials from New York to Kansas are offering to help graduates pay down those debts if they will settle in declining or sparsely populated areas.

The idea is to attract young professionals to areas that often lack both young people and professionals. In Niagara Falls, N.Y., officials are trying to shore up a beleaguered downtown in a city that has seen its population drop by more than 50 percent in recent decades.

“We’ve lost a lot of talent, a lot of brain power,” Seth Piccirillo, Niagara Falls’ director of community development, told ABC. “For 50 years we’ve been asking ourselves: how do we keep our young people?”

Now the city has set aside $200,000 for a program to attract young people to live there. Graduates who have earned a 2- or 4-year degree in the past two years can apply for up to $3,500 a year, for two years, towards repayment of student loans. Applicants have to rent an apartment or buy a home within a designated downtown area.

Officials in Kansas are taking a similar approach to attract residents to rural areas. Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZs) across 50 counties offer new residents Kansas income tax waivers for up to five years and/or student loan repayments up to $15,000.

Applicants for loan repayments must hold an associate’s, bachelor’s or post-graduate degree, have outstanding student loans and establish residency in a ROZ county.

Kansas officials say they have received 338 applications for the program, including 111 out-of-state applicants. Nebraska officials are considering a similar program.