The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot
The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot was the first cross-sector collaborative basic income initiative to take place in the state of Iowa. This community learning opportunity studied the impacts of an unrestricted cash assistance on low-income Iowans living in Dallas, Polk and Warren counties. There were no limitations on how income payments were spent and selected individuals were free to use the money to best meet their needs.
As a randomized control trial, 110 participants received the $500 monthly income payments for 24 months while 140 control group members did not. Both groups were surveyed over a 30-month period to provide information about their life experiences to examine the impact of receiving the basic income. Research was led by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania with support by Des Moines University’s Public Health Department. Project Coordination was led by a team at the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement at Drake University. The project was funded by an 11-member public/private/corporate partnership.
Research Design
110 randomly assigned intervention participants
(received a $500 monthly income payment for 24 months)
140 randomly assigned control group participants
(received no monthly payment from the study)
In addition to the research study, the Project Coordination team collaborated with numerous community-based organizational partners to implement a community conversations series and produce associated publications to foster education and awareness regarding local basic needs topics including affordable housing, employment opportunities, economic mobility, and accessing Medicaid.
The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot was made possible by the generous support of an 11-member funding group:
Check out UpLift’s Key Takeaways & Final Findings!
UpLift Key Takeaways
The Project Coordination Team learned many things through the implementation of the pilot and by being the contact point for participants. Here’s a summary document of the main takeaways from participant recruitment, onboarding, and the personal stories of those who shared their lived experiences with the pilot.
UPenn's Research Findings
The pilot’s research team at The Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania created three briefs that focus on a different aspect of the study’s results which includes:
- Work Ethic, Affordability, and Nested Financial Logic in Central Iowa
- Responsive Caregiving and Basic Income
- Health, Hope and Basic Income
Click below access the study’s results
Financial Stability in Iowa
Financial Stability in Iowa
Financial stability is the cornerstone for an individual or family to be able to meet their most essential needs like housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and technology. Without it, people are forced to make very difficult decisions around which needs are met and which ones they forgo for the month.
According to central Iowa’s 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), 35.5% of survey responders said they could not afford a $400 emergency expense without going into debt, that percentage was a 10% increase from the previous assessment done in 2021 . (Community Health Needs Assessment, 2024).
cost of living
Although Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, many Iowan workers are unable to afford their basic needs and would be considered part of the ALICE population. ALICE stands for ‘Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed’ and is a framework used by United Way to talk about cost of living and wages. With the prices of goods and services rising, many Iowan workers are struggling to keep pace. In 2023, 37% of Iowans’ incomes – roughly 482,000 people – fell below United Way’s estimation for what it cost to survive (The State of ALICE in Iowa Report, 2025).
Economic mobility
Economic mobility, a measure of growth in income or wealth, has been in decline in the U.S. for decades. While 93% of children born in the 1940s out earned their parents, fewer than half of those born in the 1980s could say the same. Reviving economic mobility is about more than individual opportunity; it’s about driving economic growth, strengthening communities, reducing inequities, and ensuring prosperity for future generations (Camber Collective, n.d.).
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