Stockton officials announced plans to test a city-led guaranteed income pilot later named the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED). The announcement framed the project as a practical experiment to learn how predictable, no-strings cash might affect economic stability for residents.
SEED launched in February 2019 under Mayor Michael D. Tubbs. The program provided $500 per month for 24 months to 125 randomly selected adult residents, with payments described as unconditional (no work requirements or spending rules).
Eligibility was based on being at least 18, living in Stockton, and living in a neighborhood with a median household income at or below $46,033 (Stockton’s city median at the time). Households were recruited by mail, and selection into the payment group and control group was randomized as part of a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Payments were delivered through a prepaid debit card (“Focus Card”) to improve access for residents who were unbanked or underbanked. The project aimed to deposit funds around the middle of the month based on community feedback about when financial stress was highest.
Because extra cash can sometimes reduce eligibility for certain public benefits, SEED pursued waivers where possible and offered benefits counseling during onboarding. The project also created a “Hold Harmless Fund” to reimburse participants for unexpected benefits losses linked to the payments.
SEED published a pre-analysis plan laying out the study design before results were known. Pre-analysis plans are used to document what researchers intend to measure and how, which helps reduce bias when findings are later reported.
In June 2020, Mayor Michael D. Tubbs helped found Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), a coalition promoting local guaranteed income pilots and using research evidence to support broader policy discussions. SEED’s experience in Stockton was widely cited as a major early example informing the coalition’s work.
Michael Tubbs lost his bid for reelection and conceded the race in mid-November 2020. SEED continued to be discussed nationally even as Stockton’s local political leadership changed.
In November 2020, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income partnered with the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice to establish the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR). The center was created to support consistent research methods across city pilots and to consolidate evidence from multiple sites.
SEED’s two-year payment period ran from February 2019 through January 2021, completing the planned 24 months of $500 monthly transfers. This end point marked the transition from implementation to longer-term analysis and synthesis of outcomes.
In SEED’s first-year analysis, tracked spending on the prepaid card showed the largest shares going to food and household needs such as utilities and transportation/auto care. The report also noted that less than 1% of tracked purchases were for alcohol and tobacco.
SEED’s first-year findings reported improvements for recipients compared with the control group, including higher full-time employment and better self-reported wellbeing (such as less depression and anxiety). The report presented these as preliminary findings from the first year of the experiment (February 2019–February 2020).
Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) (Stockton, California, 2019–2021)