This brief analyzes the effects of guaranteed income payments after one year for the 75 families in the southeastern part of San Francisco who are participating in the Place to Prosper Guaranteed Income Pilot. We compare participant responses from before they received their first payment to responses one year into the pilot and assess the effects that the payments have had on participants and their children.

Why This Matters

At a time of rising costs of living and limited supplies of affordable housing, especially in large cities, guaranteed income payments can have stabilizing effects for lower-income families across a range of economic, health, and social factors. After one year, feedback from pilot participants indicates that these payments can help families begin to lift themselves into more financially secure circumstances.

Key Findings

After one year of payments, we found the following improvements to participant well-being:

• Increased ability to afford basic needs. More participants reported being able to afford both essential expenses and household wants. In interviews, participants described the peace of mind and confidence they gained from knowing they can pay their bills. 
• More nutritionally balanced meals. Fewer participants reported a frequent inability to afford balanced meals.
• Better physical and mental health. The shares of participants reporting poor physical and mental health declined while the share reporting good physical and mental health rose.
• Improved social outcomes for children. Participants reported that their children had a greater sense of belonging in social settings and that they had an increased ability to nurture their children’s participation in school and community activities.
• Improved financial stability. Participants reported greater financial health, especially via decreased levels of debt.
• Greater job flexibility. More participants reported having enough support to leave their jobs and search for better ones and to maintain their housing amid any unexpected changes.

Although some other outcomes did not markedly improve after one year, these results suggest that guaranteed income provided a wide range of benefits for low-income families in this pilot.

How We Did It

We conducted three surveys over the course of the pilot: one before participants received the first pilot payment, one about 6 months into the pilot, and one about 12 months into the pilot. We compared results among these three surveys, weighting to adjust for nonresponse and to be representative of all 75 families in the pilot. We also reviewed responses from interviews with pilot participants to give more detail to our findings.