University of Michigan research: Ann Arbor guaranteed‑income pilot shows no year‑one reductions in food or housing insecurity, participants report greater hope

Kristen Seefeldt, a researcher with the University of Michigan, told the Ann Arbor City Council work session that preliminary results from the city’s ARPA‑funded guaranteed‑income pilot show no statistically significant difference on measures of food insecurity or housing instability after one year of payments, though participants report feeling better about their finances.

Seefeldt said the pilot, called Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor (GAI‑2), used a stratified random sample to select 100 recipients who receive $528 a month for 24 months and 100 comparison respondents who receive $25 a month for participating in the study. Eligibility was set for Ann Arbor residents with household income under 225% of the federal poverty level (about $56,000 for a family of three); the research team did not verify applicants’ self‑reported small‑business or entrepreneurial claims.

The interim analysis covered baseline surveys, year‑one surveys collected this winter and qualitative interviews. Seefeldt said the median age of participants is about 33, roughly 60% are women, and the…