Vermont will pay remote workers up to $10,000 to move to the state

Foliage was visible from Route 7 along the Green Mountain National Forest in Rutland, Vermont, on Sept. 29, 2012.Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont is hoping to attract new residents and boost its population and workforce by paying some of them to relocate to the state.

The state starts accepting applications on Jan. 1 for the program, which pays people who work remotely for an out-of-state company to move to Vermont.

The state will pay those new residents up to $10,000 over a period of two years. The grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis with $500,000 allocated for the program. Among the expenses that can be covered are relocation costs and computer software and hardware.

According to the US Census Bureau, Vermont has the third-highest median age, 42.7 years, in the nation. The state’s population overall is flat or slightly shrinking.