In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters

[groundloop]

Source: NY Times

...........
Climbing the income ladder occurs less often in the Southeast and industrial Midwest, the data shows, with the odds notably low in Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, Raleigh, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus. By contrast, some of the highest rates occur in the Northeast, Great Plains and West, including in New York, Boston, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Seattle and large swaths of California and Minnesota.

“Where you grow up matters,” said Nathaniel Hendren, a Harvard economist and one of the study’s authors. “There is tremendous variation across the U.S. in the extent to which kids can rise out of poverty.”

That variation does not stem simply from the fact that some areas have higher average incomes: upward mobility rates, Mr. Hendren added, often differ sharply in areas where average income is similar, like Atlanta and Seattle.

But the researchers identified four broad factors that appeared to affect income mobility, including the size and dispersion of the local middle class. All else being equal, upward mobility tended to be higher in metropolitan areas where poor families were more dispersed among mixed-income neighborhoods.......




Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/business/in-climbing-income-ladder-location-matters.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130722&_r=0

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The authors of this study also found that upward income mobility was higher in areas with better schools and more civic engagement, including membership in religious and community groups. They also cited easily available public transportation as a large contributing factor.

This is a fascinating article and well worth the time spent to read it.

[bonniebgood]

1. I don't agree with a lot of studies but this one is really true

to my experience. You may also note that, citizens are more educated and less racist in these areas.
location, location, location.

[Mojorabbit]

2. K and R nt

[DeadLetterOffice]

3. Here's a link to the actual study

so you don't have to rely on the NYT to get it right.

[link:http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/|

[Igel]

4. That map looks awfully familiar.

Combine things like Indian reservations with the demographic map showing African-American population density and you're most of the way there. S. Louisiana is a notable exception.

Some is due to having a more rural population--the "Black Belt," for instance, is still largely not "big city" (even if the cities in it may sometimes be large). But other areas are still poor, black, and in some cases urban--Chicago, Detroit.

Not a perfect match, and it's not an explanation just a correlation.