OBJECTIVES: While utility improvements from depression treatments have been studied, little research has examined utility improvements from non-pharmacological treatments in older minorities.  The objective of this study was to measure utility improvements from Beat the Blues (BTB), a non-pharmacological program for older depressed African Americans in which licensed senior center social workers meet with participants at home for up to 10 sessions over 4 months to assess care needs, make referrals/linkages, provide depression education, instruct in stress reduction techniques, and use behavioral activation to identify goals and steps to achieve them. METHODS: Utility (EQ-5D) was measured in a single-blind parallel group randomized clinical trial comparing BTB to wait list control. Patients were enrolled between 2009 and 2010, were African American, age ≥ 55, had positive screen for depression (PHQ-9≥5), English speaking, and cognitively intact.  EQ-5D was administered at T1 (baseline), T2 (4 months) and T3 (8 months). Participants receiving control at T1 were switched to BTB at T2 and followed to T3; participants receiving BTB at T1 were switched to observation at T2 and followed to T3 (“post-BTB”). RESULTS: EQ-5D sample sizes for the study groups were T1-T2: BTB=69; control=66, and T2-T3:  BTB=79; post-BTB=70. EQ-5D index values for BTB versus control at T1 were 0.5701 (0.20 SD) versus 0.5705 (0.21 SD) and improved to 0.6638 (0.22 SD) versus 0.6308 (0.20 SD) at T2 (T1-T2 within group improvements were 0.0937 and 0.0603 for BTB versus control). EQ-5D index in the post-BTB group held from T2-T3 (slight 0.0093 within group increase). Participants switched to BTB from control from T2-T3 showed improvement (0.0655 within group increase). CONCLUSIONS: BTB resulted in meaningful and sustained utility improvement, in the range of depression treatments previously studied. Findings inform discussions about health gains which can be expected from non-pharmacological treatments in depressed older, underserved African Americans.