Mobility
Essential to the American Dream is the notion that hard work will create the opportunities to succeed regardless of where you start in life or your race, ethnicity, or gender. However, an examination of mobility—movement up and down the income and living standards ladder—shows that turning this dream into reality has not been getting easier.
Intragenerational mobility
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Median family income over the householder's working life, by birth cohort
Figure 3A in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of families in the bottom and top income fifths in 1994 ending up in various income fifths in 2004
Figure 3B in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of workers with large shifts in real annual earnings from 2002 to 2003, by earnings fifth
Figure 3C in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of taxpayers at the top of the income distribution in 1996 ending up in various income groups in 2005
Figure 3D in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Characteristics associated with leaving the bottom income fifth
Figure 3E in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Characteristics associated with entering the bottom income fifth
Figure 3F in State of Working America 12th Edition
Intergenerational mobility
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Likelihood that sons of low-earning fathers end up above various earnings thresholds as adults, depending on estimated ease of mobility
Figure 3G in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Intergenerational correlations between the earnings of fathers and sons in OECD countries
Figure 3H in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of sons of fathers in the bottom earnings fifth ending up in the bottom or top two-fifths as adults, by country
Figure 3I in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of daughters of fathers in the bottom earnings fifth ending up in the bottom or top two-fifths as adults, by country
Figure 3J in State of Working America 12th Edition
The impact of race, wealth, and education on mobility
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Share of children in the bottom income fourth ending up in either the bottom or top income fourth as adults, by race
Figure 3K in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of children from various earnings fifths ending up in the bottom fifth as adults, by race
Figure 3L in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of children in the bottom and top wealth fifths ending up in various wealth fifths as adults
Figure 3M in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of entering classes at top universities and community colleges coming from families in various socioeconomic fourths
Figure 3N in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of students completing college, by socioeconomic status and eighth-grade test scores
Figure 3O in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of adults remaining in the same income fifth they were in as children, by college attainment
Figure 3P in State of Working America 12th Edition
Income inequality and mobility
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Intergenerational mobility and income inequality in 22 countries
Figure 3Q in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Distance between income groups in the United States versus the European Union (hypothetical)
Figure 3R in State of Working America 12th Edition
Has the American Dream become more or less attainable over time?
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Share of people in the bottom and top family income fifths moving along the income scale, 1970–1980 to 1995–2005
Figure 3S in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of working-age individuals experiencing a 50% or greater drop in family income over two years, 1971–2004
Figure 3T in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Elasticities between parental income and sons' earnings, 1950–2000
Figure 3U in State of Working America 12th Edition
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Share of 25-year-olds from each family income fourth without a college degree, by birth cohort
Figure 3V in State of Working America 12th Edition
