For Jennette Fisher, 46, $500 a month allowed her to sign a lease for an apartment in a quiet Chicago suburb with her daughter.
"It took such a weight off," Fisher previously told Business Insider. "If I wouldn't have had that money, I don't know what would have happened."
Guaranteed basic income has become an increasingly popular strategy to approach poverty in US cities. More than 100 municipalities have tried the GBI model since 2019, offering low-income participants between $50 and $2,000 a month, no strings attached, for a set time period.
What makes basic income different from traditional social services is the element of choice. Most participants told BI they spent basic income on housing, groceries, transportation, and debt repayment — wherever they needed it the most.
Typically, participants fall below the federal poverty line. Some programs have focused on specific populations, such as new and expecting mothers, households with children, or people experiencing homelessness.
Basic-income pilots have been completed in cities and counties in Alabama, Virginia, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, and Oklahoma, among other states. The Alaska Permanent Fund is similar to UBI, and several countries have basic-income programs.
GBI varies slightly from universal basic income, which also offers participants no-strings-attached cash payments but has no set time period. It's also not limited to participants in a specific demographic or income bracket.
Local and federal leaders continue to weigh the pros and cons of UBI. Basic-income programs have faced legislative opposition from some Republican lawmakers, who say that basic income discourages work.
For example, Iowa passed a ban on GBI in April, and the Arizona House of Representatives voted in February to ban basic income. On April 23, the Texas Supreme Court placed a temporary block on a Houston-area basic income program that the attorney general called "unconstitutional."
Despite these political challenges, basic-income programs remain active across the country. Here's a breakdown of states, listed in alphabetical order, where cash payments are offered to low-income residents.
CaliforniaLos Angeles.
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Location: Los Angeles County Program name: Breathe Duration: June 2022 to August 2025 Income amount: $1,000 every month for three years Number of participants: 1,000 low-income households
Location: Los Angeles Program name: Building Outstanding Opportunities for Students to Thrive (BOOST) program Duration: fall 2024 to fall 2025 Income amount: $1,000 a month for 12 months Number of participants: 250 students pursuing health careers in the Los Angeles Community College District
Location: Alameda County Program: United Way Bay Area's GBI pilot Duration: November 2024 to spring 2026 Income amount: initial $3,000 payment, then $1,000 a month for the next 12 months, with amounts tapering for the final six months Number of participants: 100 local families
Location: Long Beach Program name: Long Beach Pledge Duration: spring 2024 to spring 2025 Income amount: $500 a month for 12 months Number of participants: 200 low-income households with children
Location: Mountain View Program name: Elevate MV Duration: December 2022 to December 2024 Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months Number of participants: 166 low-income parents
Location: Sonoma County Program name: Pathway to Income Equity Duration: January 2023 to January 2025 Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months Number of participants: 305 low-income families
Location: Pomona Program name: City of Pomona Household Universal Grants Pilot Program Duration: summer 2024 to spring 2026 Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months Number of participants: 250 low-income families with children under 4 years old
Location: Humboldt County Program name: Humboldt Income Program Duration: on a rolling basis, beginning December 2023 Income amount: $920 a month for 18 months Number of participants: 150 low-income pregnant people
California has seen basic income programs in Stockton, San Francisco, Marin County, Compton, Oakland, Santa Clara, and San Diego. In 2021, California's basic income efforts were granted $35 million for more GBI pilots over five years, and a billbeing heard in theCalifornia Senate would provide GBI starting in August for students experiencing homelessness.
ColoradoBoulder.
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Location: Boulder Program name: Elevate Boulder Duration: January 2024 to January 2026 Income amount: $500 a month for two years Number of participants: 200 low-income households
Location: Atlanta, southwest Georgia, and College Park Program name: In Her Hands Duration: a first pilot from 2022 to 2024 and a second pilot that began in spring 2024 Income amount: average payments of $850 a month over 24 months for the first round Number of participants: 650 low-income Black women
IllinoisChicago.
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Location: Cook County Program name: Cook County Promise Duration: December 2022 to December 2024 Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months Number of participants: 3,250 low- to moderate-income families
Location: Evanston Program name: Guaranteed Income Program Duration: A first round ran from December 2022 to December 2023, and applications for a second round were due in summer 2024. Income amount: $500 a month for one year Number of participants: 150 low-income families
Location: statewide Program name: Empower Parenting with Resources Duration: fall 2024 to fall 2026 Income amount: monthly payments for a year dependent on each participant's income and local cost of living Number of participants: 400 families involved in the child-welfare system
Chicago previously ran the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot, providing basic income for 5,000 residents, and has set aside $32 million to relaunch the program. OpenAI's cofounder Sam Altman also sponsored a GBI program beginning in 2019 that gave 3,000 Texas and Illinois residents $1,000 a month for three years.
IowaDes Moines, Iowa.
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Location: Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties Program name: UpLift — The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot Duration: May 2023 to spring 2026 Income amount: $500 a month Number of participants: 110 low-income households
LouisianaNew Orleans.
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Location: New Orleans Program name: Rooted School: $50 Study Duration: two phases, running from fall 2022 to summer 2024, with funding set aside to expand the program over the next three years Income amount: $50 a week for the 40-week academic year Number of participants: 800 New Orleans high-school students
A previous program in Shreveport gave 110 single parents $660 monthly for a year ending in February 2023. The New Orleans Guaranteed Income Program gave 125 young people disconnected from work or school $350 monthly between spring 2022 and spring 2023. A statewide basic-income pilot called the Truth and Reconciliation Project also gave 12 people described by the program as "survivors of police misconduct who did not receive restitution in the courts" $1,000 a month, with payments concluding in October.
MassachusettsSomerville, Massachusetts.
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Location: Somerville Program name: Somerville Guaranteed Basic Income Program Duration: July 2024 to July 2025 Income amount: $750 a month for 12 months Number of participants: 200 low-income families
Location: Ann Arbor Program name: Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor Duration: January 2024 to December 2025 Income amount: $528 a month for 24 months Number of participants: 100 low-income entrepreneurs
Location: Flint Program name: Rx Kids Duration: January 2024 to spring 2025 Income amount: $1,500 lump sum, then $500 monthly payments during the first year of a baby's life Number of participants: 1,200 new and expectant mothers
MinnesotaSt. Paul, Minnesota.
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Location: statewide Program name:Guaranteed Income for Artists Duration: initially 18 months, extended to five years in summer 2024 Income amount: $500 month Number of participants: 75 artists living in rural areas, plus 25 artists set to be added in 2024
St. Paul previously hosted an 18-month program for 150 low-income families, who received $500 a month beginning in fall 2020. A program in Minneapolis gave 200 families $500 a month.
MississippiJackson, Mississippi.
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Location: Jackson Program name: Magnolia Mother's Trust Duration: 12 months per pilot, ongoing Income amount: $1,000 a month Number of participants: over 400 low-income Black mothers since fall 2018
MissouriSt. Louis.
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Location: St. Louis Program name: STL Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Duration: fall 2023 to spring 2025, with payments temporarily blocked in July by a lawsuit Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months Number of participants: 540 low-income families with children
New YorkNew York.
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Location: New York City, Rochester, and Buffalo Program name: The Bridge Project Duration: June 2021, ongoing Income amount: up to $1,000 a month for three years Number of participants: 1,200 low-income mothers
Location: Hudson Program name: HudsonUp Duration: five years, with staggered cohorts launched in fall 2020, 2021, and 2023 Income amount: $500 a month for five years Number of participants: 128 households
A 17-month program in Ulster County that provided basic income to 100 households ended in September 2022. Another program in Ithaca gave a full year of cash payments to unpaid caregivers through May 2023. The nonprofit Creatives Rebuild New York also ran an 18-month basic-income pilot for artists affected by the pandemic, which ended in early 2024.
OregonPortland, Oregon.
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Location: Portland Program name: Black Resilience Fund Duration: January 2023 to spring 2026 Income amount: up to $2,000 a month for three years Number of participants: 25 Black households in Multnomah County
Location: Philadelphia Program name: PHLHousing+ Duration: fall 2022 to spring 2025 Income amount: $89 to $2,079 a month for 30 months, depending on household income Number of participants: 300 renter households from the Philadelphia Housing Authority's Housing Choice Voucher or public-housing waitlist
Location: Philadelphia Program name: Philly Joy Bank Duration: launched in summer 2024 Income amount: $1,000 a month for 18 months Number of participants: 250 low-income pregnant people
TexasSan Antonio.
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Location: San Antonio Program name: UpTogether San Antonio Duration: summer 2023 to December 2024 Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months Number of participants: 25 low-income families
Location: Harris County Program name: Uplift Harris Duration: initially scheduled to begin in April 2024, but the Houston-area basic-income program is delayed because of a state Supreme Court ruling Income amount: $500 a month for 18 months Number of participants: 1,928 low-income households
An earlier San Antonio program offered $5,108 to 1,000 families over a 25-month period that began in December 2020. The Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot gave its participants $1,000 a month ending in May 2023. Additionally, Altman's GBI program that began in 2019 gave 3,000 Texas and Illinois residents $1,000 a month for three years.
VirginiaRichmond, Virginia.
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Location: Richmond Program name: Richmond Resilience Initiative Duration: two-year program beginning October 2020, with staggered cohorts planned through spring 2025 Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months Number of participants: 94 low-income families with children
Location: Alexandria Program name: Alexandria Recurring Income for Success and Equity Duration: spring 2023 to spring 2025 Income amount: $500 a month for 24 months Number of participants: 170 low-income people
