Cumberland's offer to pay $20,000 to move there goes viral

When Cumberland announced in August that it would pay newcomers $20,000 to settle in the mountains of Western Maryland, local authorities expected a modest response – perhaps a few dozen applications.

But thanks to media attention, including in the Baltimore Banner and later in the Washington Post and the New York Post, the offer became known spread. There are now more than 1,000 applicants vying for 10 spots in tiny Appalachian City.

“Nobody expected this. Nobody,” said Laurie Marchini, a council member since 2019.

“Sir, I was interviewed by the DMV station and Fox,” said Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss. “It went viral.”

The impact of Cumberland's moment in the national spotlight is being felt throughout the city.

Local real estate agents are struggling to keep up with inquiries from potential newcomers, while a city employee's computer crashed under the weight of incoming applications. The city has since assembled a task force of employees and local leaders to review the paperwork and hopes to select the winner households until the end of the year.

But not everyone in Cumberland is thrilled.

On local Facebook pages, some residents have expressed frustration and fear the program comes at the expense of long-established businesses Local. “Why not invest in the people already here and work to create JOBS?” one person wrote. Another added: “Help the people in this city before you bring in new people.”

Morriss acknowledged the criticism but said it was based on a misunderstanding.

“Frankly, the public tends to read the headline and not get into the nitty-gritty,” Morriss said.

The $200,000 program is not funded through city funds but through a grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

To qualify, households, if selected, must move to Cumberland within six months and commit to remaining there for five years. In return, they will receive $10,000 toward moving costs and up to an additional $10,000 to offset a down payment on a home or renovation costs.

If a fellow decides to leave the fellowship before the five-year mark is reached, they must do so repay the funds.

There is also money for those already in Cumberland, Morriss added. The city has secured nearly $900,000 in federal and state funding in recent years to help longtime residents with property upgrades, roof repairs and home accessibility improvements, he said.

However, among some locals the skepticism runs deeper. It has its roots in Cumberland's decades-long decline.

Cumberland was once a thriving industrial center known as Maryland's “Queen City” and second only to Baltimore. Since the 1970s, Cumberland's prosperity has declined as manufacturing facilities relocated to cheaper locations. often in southern states. Today the city has around 19,000 inhabitants.

The tide could be turning. Since the pandemic, Cumberland has seen an unexpected resurgence as remote workers move in. The National Association of Realtors ranked Cumberland among the country's fastest-growing real estate markets for 2024, and Realtor.com listed it as one of the top metro areas for Generation Z to buy homes.

Local Realtor and Cumberland native Ally Litten has been watching this surge closely, but nothing prepared her for the flood of interest following the announcement of the relocation program.

Typically, Litten said, potential buyers have ties to Western Maryland, but in recent weeks she has fielded calls from California, New Hampshire and Tennessee.

“I always knew this was a hidden gem, but now it finally feels like we are being recognized for how beautiful it is to live in this place,” Litten said.