California cities that offer guaranteed income programs: amounts, requirements & eligibility
California provides guaranteed income programs to help low-income families. Here are the cities that offer financial aid, and those qualified to receive it.
California has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the country. Because of this, state and local authorities have chosen to launch a series of guaranteed income programs that offer direct monthly payments to low-income residents, with the goal of helping them meet their basic needs.
According to figures from local news outfit CalMatters, more than 12,000 Californians get cash payments each month through the guaranteed income pilot programs. Here are the cities that offer financial aid, as well as the current status of the programs.
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California cities that offer guaranteed income programs
Payments completed
Programs approved between 2019 and 2022*
Bay Area
$600 per month for 6 months. Beneficiaries: Individuals at risk of homelessness.
Los Angeles
- $1,000 per month for 12 months. Beneficiaries: Individuals with households below the Federal Poverty Line and who have at least one minor child or student under the age of 24, or who are pregnant or affected by covid-19.
- $1,000 per month for 12 months. Beneficiaries: Households headed by women who work as paid caregivers and earn between 50% and 80% of the area’s median income.
Santa Clara County
$1,000 per month for 24 months. Targets: Foster youth who would be out of county care at age 25.
San Francisco
- $1,000 per month for 18 months. Targets: Low-income artists in any of 13 zip codes determined based on demographics and covid-19 impacts.
- $350 per month for 6 months. Beneficiaries: Low-income families with children enrolled in daycare or preschool.
- $500 per month for 12 months. Targets: Foster youth growing up out of care, single heads of household, families with young children, and residents of lower-income sections of the city.
Stockton
$500 per month for 24 months. Beneficiaries: Households in zip codes with incomes below the city average.
Payments in progress
Alameda County
- $1,500 per month for 18 months. Start of payment: May 2022. Beneficiaries: People returning home after serving a prison sentence and who are registered with local job search services.
- $1,000 per month for 24 months. Start of payment: February 2023. Beneficiaries: Former foster youth.
El Monte
$500 per month for 12 months. Start of payment: March 2023. Beneficiaries: Single women heads of household with children under the age of 18 who live at or below the federal poverty level, and who were affected by the pandemic.
Los Angeles
$750 per month for 12 months. Start of payment: August 2022. Beneficiaries: Homeless adults enrolled in the social support program of a non-profit organization.
Sacramento
$300 payments per month for 24 months. Start of payment: July 2021. Beneficiaries: Households that make up up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level.
Marin County
$1,000 per month for 24 months. Start of payment: June 2021. Beneficiaries: Low-income women of color with one minor child.
Mountain View
$500 per month for 12 months. Start of payment: December 2022. Beneficiaries: Households earning below 30% of the area’s median income, with at least one minor child or a pregnant woman.
San Francisco
- $1,000 per month for 18 months. Start of payment: October 2022. Beneficiaries: Artists nominated by a community leader.
- $1,000 per month for 15 months. Payment Start: June 2021. Beneficiaries: African-American parents and pregnant Pacific Islander women with a household income of less than $100,000 per year.
- $500 per month for 12 months. Payment Start: December 2022. Beneficiaries: African-American young adults aged 18-24 in census-designated low-income neighborhoods.
San Mateo County
$400/month for 12-24 months. Start of payment: January 2022. Beneficiaries: Low-income immigrant families who have children under 6 years of age and lost income due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Santa Clara County
$1,000 per month for 24 months. Payment Start: December 2022. Beneficiaries: Extremely low-income households experiencing homelessness or home insecurity.
Santa Cruz County
$500 - $650 per month for 6-12 months. Start of payment: December 2022. Beneficiaries: Families or single mothers in low-income census areas and survivors of domestic violence.
Sonoma County
$500 dollars per month for 24 months. Start of payment: February 2023. Beneficiaries: Parents with children under 6 years of age or pregnant women, with family income up to 185% of the federal poverty level and who were affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Yolo County
An average of $1,200 per month for 24 months. Payment Start: April 2022. County CalWorks recipients with a child under six or pregnant women, enrolled in the Housing Stability Program.
Future payments
Alameda County
$1,000 per month for 24 months. Recipients: City residents earning up to half the area median income.
Humboldt County
$1,000 per month for 18 months. Beneficiaries: Pregnant women.
Long Beach
$500 per month for 12 months. Targets: Single-parent households with children living at or below the federal poverty level in the 90813 ZIP code.
Los Angeles
$1,000 per month for 18 months. Recipients: Pregnant women with diabetes.
Riverside and San Bernardino
$600 per month for 18 months. Beneficiaries: Pregnant women and former foster youth.
San Diego County
$500 per month for 24 months. Beneficiaries: Families at risk of referral to the child welfare agency with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
San Francisco
- $1,000 per month for 12 months. Beneficiaries: Families experiencing homelessness, who are exiting Compass' rapid rehousing program.
- $1,200 per month for 18 months. Beneficiaries: Former foster youth.
- $1,200 per month for 18 months. Beneficiaries: Transgender residents.
Ventura County
$1,000 per month for 18 months. Beneficiaries: Former foster youth
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Alameda, Riverside and Contra Costa
$600 to $1,000 per month for 12 months. Targets: Pregnant women disproportionately affected by disparities in perinatal health.
Statewide
$750 per month for 18 months. Recipients: Former foster youth.
For more information about payments in progress or programs with future payments to be announced, visit CalMatters.org.