Austin's Guaranteed Income Pilot Program

SUMMARY
IMPACTS
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PILOT INFORMATION

Name of Experiment

Austin's Guaranteed Income Pilot Program
Official Program Website

https://www.austintexas.gov/page/faqs-equity
Program Description

The pilot, focused on housing stability, will provide $1,000 per month for 12 months to a total of 85 households facing or at risk of eviction and individuals experiencing homelessness. Each participant will have complete discretion as to how to spend the money.
Neighborhood

City of Austin and Travis County
Category

Homeless and Housing

LOCATION

Austin, TX, USA

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AFFILIATIONS

Managing Organizations/Agencies

City of Austin (including Austin Public Health, the Homeless Strategy Office, the Equity Office); Uptogether

IMPLEMENTATION DATA

Implementation Dates

September 2022 - September 2023
Implementation Status

Concluded
Total Number of Participants

135
Type of Funding

Public/Private
Participants Receiving the Transfer

Households
Transfer Amount

$1000 USD
Frequency of Payment

Monthly
Duration of Payment

12 months
Other Intervention Components

N/A
Is Use of Funds Available?

No
Is the Pilot a Randomized Control Trial (RCT)?

Yes
Other Intervention Components

N/A

TARGETING INFORMATION

Type of Tagergeting

Geographic and individual/household means-testing and demographic
Targeting Details

Households with a household income that is at or below 60% of the Area Median Family Income ($66,180 for a household of 4) and who meet at least one of the four other criteria: moving from homelessness toward permanent housing; have a filed eviction; household has been behind on rent for 2 or more months over the past year; and/or household has received a verbal or written notice of intent to evict OR a threat to vacate by landlord or property manager at any time within the past 3 months due to nonpayment of rent

PILOT REPORT SUMMARY

Demographics of Pilot

The Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot, conducted by UpTogether in Austin, Texas, provided $1,000 each month for a year to 135 households in some of the highest-poverty and rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. The households enrolled were representative of individuals and families with low incomes in this area.

Impact on Housing

The income pilot had a substantial positive effect on housing security. Participants reported spending more than 50% of their pilot cash on housing, greatly increasing their housing security. At the end of the 12-month period, pilot participants became notably more housing secure compared to the start of the program.

Impact on Employment

Despite receiving additional income, employment among the participants remained relatively stable throughout the pilot. Some participants even used the additional income to reduce their working hours and "skill up" for future work or take on caretaking responsibilities.

How Was the Money Spent

The majority of the pilot cash was spent on housing costs, which were a significant financial burden for the participants. On average, more than half of the cash was allocated towards this purpose, demonstrating the pressing need for secure housing among the participants.

Physical or Mental Health Benefits

The pilot had a positive effect on food security, which improved steadily over the course of the pilot. However, results for mental health were mixed. While there was an initial improvement in mental health measures at the 6-month mark, some measures reverted to the enrollment levels by the end of the program. More research is needed on methods to minimize the stress of transition out of programs, and to understand the optimal duration of cash transfer depending on recipients' circumstances and goals.