California City Pushes to Extend $500 Monthly Guaranteed Income Program
Fresno Pilot Shows Reduced Poverty, Food Insecurity, and Financial Stress Among Low-Income Families
Calls are growing to extend a guaranteed income program that provides low-income families with $500 monthly payments in a California city, after results showed measurable improvements in participants’ living conditions amid high poverty rates and mounting economic pressure, according to Newsweek.
The program, launched in July 2024, targeted families living in southwest Fresno as well as the small city of Huron in Fresno County. The year-long initiative was designed to deliver direct financial support to households most affected by economic hardship.
Fresno Guaranteed Income Pilot Shows Strong Results
The program included 150 families, each receiving $500 per month with no conditions attached. Funding was provided entirely by private philanthropic organizations.
During the pilot period, researchers from the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission tracked the impact of the payments on participants’ lives, focusing on financial stress, food security, and reliance on borrowing. The findings were striking: household borrowing dropped from 40 percent to 18 percent, food insecurity fell from 49 percent to 17 percent, and reported financial stress declined from 36 percent to 24 percent.
These results reinforce findings from similar guaranteed income programs elsewhere in California, most notably in Stockton, where earlier trials showed improved employment outcomes, reduced debt, and better mental and physical health among recipients.
Despite these positive indicators, Fresno remains one of California’s highest-poverty regions, prompting researchers and local advocates to urge officials not to treat the initiative as a temporary experiment, but to extend and expand it to reach more families.
Calls Grow to Extend Fresno Guaranteed Income Program
Program leaders stress that the initiative differs from universal basic income, as it targets specific households based on income and need rather than providing payments to all residents. The focus, they say, is on addressing poverty directly without bureaucratic complexity or strict eligibility conditions.
With the original program now concluded, the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission is working to persuade policymakers and donors that the results provide a strong case for continuation—either by extending the program beyond 12 months or integrating it permanently into the region’s social support policies.
The program’s future ultimately depends on securing additional funding, amid a broader national debate over the long-term effectiveness of guaranteed income and its role in addressing rising economic challenges across the United States.
