The Equality of Opportunity Project released a vast trove of data last Wednesday focused, as its name suggests, on identifying characteristics in communities that foster upward mobility. In looking at over 700 metro and rural areas in the U.S., the researchers defined upward mobility in terms of a children’s chances of reaching the top 20% in income distribution given parents in the bottom 20%.

Here’s the results from crunching lots of data (note the legend that indicates lighter areas as having more upward mobility):

• An obvious question when one looks at a map like this is “what factors drive upward mobility?” Here’s what the researchers found:

Cities with high levels of upward mobility tend to have five characteristics: lower levels of residential segregation, a larger middle class, stronger families, greater social capital, and higher quality public schools.

• You might ask your students where their town/city/region falls on this spectrum of upward mobility and how they think the community ranks on these five criteria.

This project is in response to growing concerns that the American Dream and the promise of being better off than one’s parents is slipping away. This chart published in December in the MSM started the conversation as a tipping point seemed to be reached with only 50% of current 36 year-olds expected to outearn their parents (from NY Times):

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.