Rise Up Alameda Guaranteed Income Tripled Savings Rate

Rise Up Alameda, the city's $4.6 million guaranteed income pilot, wrapped up with strong results: participants who got $1,000 a month for two years were nearly three times as likely to have more than $500 in savings as people who didn't get the payments. The city's Social Service Human Relations Board reviews the final findings at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Alameda City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave.

• What: Rise Up Alameda paid 150 low income households $1,000 a month for 24 months, from December 2023 through December 2025.
• Cost: $4.6 million from the city's American Rescue Plan Act funds, approved by the City Council in May 2022.
• Key number: At the two year mark, 35% of participants had savings above $500, compared with 12% of a control group that applied but wasn't chosen.
• Who ran the study: Abt Global, a research firm the city hired to track outcomes using a randomized, controlled design.
• What's next: The Social Service Human Relations Board hears the final report at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at City Hall.

How much money did Rise Up Alameda give out, and to whom?

It paid 150 Alameda residents who applied and were chosen at random. To qualify, applicants had to be 18 or older and living in a household earning at or below half the county's median income, which worked out to about $51,800 for a single person. Most participants earned far less than that ceiling. Their average household income when they applied was just $31,836, well under Alameda's citywide median of $132,015 in 2023. The city picked 192 people for the payment group and 180 for a comparison group that didn't get money, then tracked both for two years.

Did the extra income keep people from working?

No. Rise Up participants and the comparison group worked similar hours and had similar rates of full time and part time employment throughout the study. That's a common worry with guaranteed income programs, and Alameda's data didn't back it up. Researchers did find participants were somewhat more likely to work part time instead of full time, but overall work involvement didn't change between the two groups.

What did families actually do with the money?

They saved more and borrowed less. At the one year mark, 21% of participants had more than $500 saved, compared with 12% of the comparison group. By two years, that gap widened to 35% versus 12%. Participants were also less likely to go into debt: 16% reported new debt at 24 months, versus 27% of the comparison group. They reported lower psychological distress and perceived stress too, and were less likely to rely on public benefit programs.

What happens next for Rise Up Alameda?

The pilot itself already ended in December 2025, so no new checks are going out. What's left is the paperwork: the Social Service Human Relations Board reviews Abt Global's final two-year report and a companion narrative project on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers. City staff say the findings will help shape how Alameda talks about future anti-poverty programs, though no new guaranteed income pilot is currently funded.