WASHINGTON, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A total of twenty academic studies have found guaranteed income programs led to several key benefits, including higher rates of employment, improved financial stability, better housing and food security, and more time spent together as families.
A guaranteed income refers to monthly cash payments made to low-income individuals, with no strings attached. Nearly 200 cities are or have recently run guaranteed income pilots, and 72 of those are affiliated with Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), a network of mayors, city and county officials, and state legislators dedicated to creating best practices for this policy intervention. Several leading research institutions have collaborated with MGI cities and counties to conduct rigorous mixed-methods research studies of these guaranteed income pilots, and full results have been released for 20 cities whose pilots have completed. Key trends include:
- Employment: Not a single pilot has shown decreased employment among recipients of guaranteed income, and the vast majority of pilots have shown increased rates of full-time employment. This disproves the most common criticism from opponents. Research shows that recurring cash helps recipients afford childcare in order to work, secure transportation to their job, invest in professional licenses to improve their employment prospects, and take time off to interview for a better job.
- Financial resilience: Practically every pilot has seen a temporary or sustained increase in the financial stability and resilience of people receiving guaranteed income. The populations receiving guaranteed income varied from pilot to pilot, but all extremely financially vulnerable. Many recipients reported that they were able to pay down debt, save for emergencies, and increase their household income.
- Housing & Food Security: The vast majority of pilots have improved either housing security, food security, or both. Considering the post-COVID years have seen sharp increases in the cost of both food and housing, while wages have remained largely static, this finding indicates that guaranteed income helps recipients weather tough economic conditions.
- Physical & Mental Health: In many studies, recipients demonstrated reduced stress, less chaotic home environments, and better mental health. An increased sense of agency and hopefulness was a common finding. In several cities, the recurring cash payments helped recipients seek needed medical care for themselves and engage in other health-promoting behaviors, and some showed improved physical health.
- Parenting & Caretaking: Increased parent-child time is another common finding, and several cities have demonstrated better outcomes for children because of it.
The 20 pilots randomly selected a fixed number of people to receive guaranteed income out of a larger pool of qualified applicants, and most included a control group of people randomly selected from the same applicant pool. Most pilots were based on income level alone, but some programs were targeted to specific, vulnerable populations, such as single parents and caregivers, people experiencing homelessness, foster youth transitioning out of state care, and people who are formerly incarcerated.
Some cities asked researchers to examine other public health markers that were a local priority. In Los Angeles, CA, researchers found that guaranteed income helped recipients escape or avoid situations of intimate partner violence and abuse. In Cambridge, MA, children of parents receiving guaranteed income had fewer school disciplinary actions and fewer instances of absenteeism and truancy, and more children placed in the Advanced Placement classes, compared to children of parents in the control group. In Oakland, CA, recipients were able to attend parent-teacher and school meetings at a higher rate, and their children were more likely to receive A-grades across all subjects at the end of the program.
“The vast income inequality and cost-of-living crisis we are facing is a direct result of policies that put billionaires and huge corporations ahead of the average American. As the affordability crisis worsens–already nearly 2 in 3 of Americans don’t have enough savings to cover a $500 emergency–research is proving that guaranteed income not only helps people afford basic necessities, it helps unlock latent potential, create opportunities, and increase the resilience of families and communities,” said Michael D. Tubbs, founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. “With more than 250 mayors, county officials and state legislators joining our movement, leaders in 33 states have stepped up to say we are ready to end poverty with evidence-based policy.”
Ultimately, the collaboration between cities, counties and researchers will produce the largest body of guaranteed income research ever, with more than 30,000 participants. Read more about pilot-specific results, and find new studies as they are released, at www.guaranteedincomeworks.org/research, and at the Denver Basic Income Project, the Urban Institute (for Austin, TX) and the Arlington Community Foundation (Arlington, VA).
Founded in June of 2020 by former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income is a coalition of nearly 180 mayors committed to advancing a federal guaranteed income – direct, recurring cash payments to middle and low-income people. Expanding to include city and county legislators in 2023 with Counties for a Guaranteed Income, and state legislators with Legislators for a Guaranteed Income in 2025, the network acts as a research and resource hub for municipal pilots around the country–over 70 and counting. An award-winning documentary film, It’s Basic, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023, follows recipients and illuminates the life-changing impact of guaranteed income programs on families’ economic security and opportunity.
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SOURCE Mayors for a Guaranteed Income
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