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- Two hundred low-income households in Minneapolis are receiving $500 a month for two years.
- Over half of recipients said housing was in their top three uses for the extra money, a new report found.
- Recipients have also experienced less food and financial insecurity and improved general wellness.
Low-income households in Minneapolis who’ve received $500 a month as part of a pilot guaranteed basic income program say the no-strings-attached cash is most useful for housing costs, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Thirty-five percent of the 200 households participating in the two-year program said “the most important use of the extra money” was rent or mortgage payments , while another 17% said utilities, including gas, electric, water, and internet, topped their priority list, according to a survey conducted at the program’s 12-month mark. A survey of the recipients conducted six months into the pilot found similar results, though more — 21% — said utilities were the most important use of the money.