Before we began, we analyzed all prior Guaranteed Minimum Income study data in the United States – specifically those studies that worked at the county level.
The OpenResearch UBI Study Analysis distills findings from the largest guaranteed income experiment ever run in the U.S., following 3,000 people in Illinois and Texas who received unconditional monthly cash for three years, after an initial Oakland pilot. Instead of focusing on a single metric, the project tracks dozens of dimensions of life—work, health, parenting, mobility, political attitudes, subjective well‑being, and more—using surveys, app diaries, biomarkers, interviews, and administrative data. Together, these methods ask two big questions: What actually happens when people get cash with no strings attached, and why?
In Her Hands is a guaranteed income pilot in Georgia that follows 654 women across three communities—Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward, rural Clay‑Randolph‑Terrell counties, and suburban College Park. Each woman receives $20,400 over two years, either as steady monthly payments or a mix of an upfront lump sum plus smaller monthly amounts, while about 2,000 non‑selected applicants form a comparison group. The page explains why the program focuses on Black women, how the two payment designs might shape choices like buying a car, securing housing, or going back to school, and how the randomized study is structured. It also offers a “playbook” for funders and local leaders considering similar guaranteed income efforts—and hints at what unfolds when people are simply trusted with cash.
Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot
Two major guaranteed income pilots in Chicago and Cook County used federal COVID relief dollars to send no‑strings cash to thousands of low‑income residents. This page walks through how the city, county, GiveDirectly, and the University of Chicago’s Inclusive Economy Lab partnered to design and run them: from outreach and application systems to benefits counseling, in‑person support, and financial coaching. It highlights the behind‑the‑scenes choices needed when 100k+ people apply for only a few thousand slots, and how those choices can be adapted for rural communities. If you want a practical, nuts‑and‑bolts look at what it really takes to implement guaranteed income at scale, this is the case study.
Rx Kids: Flint introduces a first-of-its-kind universal cash program for pregnant people and newborns in Flint, Michigan, a city with very high child poverty. The page explains the context, the idea of unconditional cash during pregnancy and a baby’s first year, and why a simple, stigma-free design might matter in the maternal–infant period. It previews early spending trends and self‑reported experiences from a 2024 survey of participating mothers, then outlines the evaluation: cohorts inside and outside Flint over time, survey measures, and focus on housing stability, material hardship, and maternal mental health. It closes with “learnings” for other communities planning maternal-and-infant guaranteed income pilots and argues that pairing cash with rigorous measurement can generate fast, local evidence.