The Thrive Prince George’s guaranteed income pilot is testing how direct cash might help seniors ages 60 and older and young people who have aged out of foster care weather challenges to their housing and financial stability, health, well-being, sense of agency, and community belonging. In March 2024, the Prince George’s County Council and Executive, together with the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Meyer Foundation, and four community-based partners, worked to enroll 125 seniors and 50 young people to receive $800 per month for two years. The pilot is prioritizing caregivers and returning citizens (formerly incarcerated individuals).

Why This Matters

In Prince George’s County, Maryland, the target communities include Chillum, Seat Pleasant, and Suitland, which are clustered between DC’s eastern borders and the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). These areas are experiencing rapid redevelopment through county- and state-led transit-oriented development projects and have some of the largest homeownership and income disparities. This pilot can serve as a springboard for policy innovation in Maryland to identify how guaranteed income programs can be integrated or deployed in tandem with other state benefits and policies to close these gaps.

What We Found

• Pilot participants are primarily located between DC’s eastern borders and the Capital Beltway in areas that are undergoing rapid redevelopment.
• Almost half of the pilot participants are below the 2024 federal poverty line for a single-person household.
• Compared with other Prince George’s County residents, participants are more likely to be female and Black.
• More than three-quarters of pilot participants are housing cost burdened, with this challenge being particularly acute among the senior population.

How We Did It

This summary combines enrollment and baseline survey data—as well as data from other sources, such as the American Community Survey and Housing Affordability Survey—to present a snapshot of participants’ characteristics before receiving the first cash disbursement.