Counties where children have the best opportunity for economic mobility in California
This story originally appeared on Wealth Enhancement Group and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Counties where children have the best opportunity for economic mobility in California
Americans have long understood that their birthplace can significantly affect their futures, and academics have increasingly been able to connect tangible early life factors like where they live and the friendships they've cultivated with potential future income.
Among the most recent studies shedding light on what's known as economic mobility—a person's ability to move themselves and their families up the socioeconomic ladder over their lifetime—are a series of papers authored by Harvard University researchers leveraging vast troves of social networking data.
As part of a national analysis, Wealth Enhancement Group used data from Harvard University's Social Capital Atlas project to identify where in California children have the best (and worst) chances at upward economic mobility.
The research draws on a privacy-protected dataset representing 21 billion friendships from Facebook made public through its parent company Meta's Data for Good project. It also uses anonymous tax records, according to the authors. The scholars assigned a score to locales according to how economically connected low- and high-income people living in the area have historically been over at least a decade, per that data. The dataset does not include scores for about 180 of the 3,000 or so counties in the U.S.
The research attempts to fill in the gaps of previous efforts to study American economic mobility that did not consider a person's vast social networks nor their importance in creating better lives for themselves and their children.
It turns out the ability to cultivate friendships linking people of different socioeconomic backgrounds with one another is the strongest factor in determining whether a child can surpass the earning potential of their parents, Harvard researchers found. They call this economic connectedness.
Read on to find out where economic connectedness is strongest in your state.
#57. Tulare County
- Median Income: $57,394
- Population: 470,999
--- 59.3% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.7% Asian
#56. Madera County
- Median Income: $66,709
- Population: 156,304
--- 55% white
--- 3% Black
--- 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.3% Asian
#55. Fresno County
- Median Income: $61,276
- Population: 1,003,150
--- 54.3% white
--- 4.5% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 10.7% Asian
#54. Colusa County
- Median Income: $61,861
- Population: 21,780
--- 68.8% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.9% Asian
#53. Monterey County
- Median Income: $82,013
- Population: 438,953
--- 43.3% white
--- 2.5% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 5.8% Asian
#52. Kings County
- Median Income: $63,267
- Population: 151,887
--- 56.9% white
--- 6.6% Black
--- 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.9% Asian
#51. Kern County
- Median Income: $58,824
- Population: 905,644
--- 62.3% white
--- 5.4% Black
--- 1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 4.8% Asian
#50. Merced County
- Median Income: $58,861
- Population: 279,150
--- 46.2% white
--- 2.9% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.5% Asian
#49. Glenn County
- Median Income: $56,332
- Population: 28,675
--- 75% white
--- 0.6% Black
--- 2.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.5% Asian
#48. Del Norte County
- Median Income: $53,280
- Population: 27,655
--- 69.4% white
--- 3% Black
--- 6.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3% Asian
#47. Tehama County
- Median Income: $52,901
- Population: 65,345
--- 80.6% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.8% Asian
#46. Lake County
- Median Income: $53,399
- Population: 67,749
--- 73% white
--- 2.4% Black
--- 3.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.4% Asian
#45. Modoc County
- Median Income: $51,090
- Population: 8,723
--- 85% white
--- 2% Black
--- 3.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.8% Asian
#44. Mendocino County
- Median Income: $56,378
- Population: 91,534
--- 77.3% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.2% Asian
#43. Sutter County
- Median Income: $67,003
- Population: 99,080
--- 58.5% white
--- 1.9% Black
--- 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 16.4% Asian
#42. Santa Barbara County
- Median Income: $84,356
- Population: 447,651
--- 65.9% white
--- 1.9% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 5.5% Asian
#41. San Joaquin County
- Median Income: $74,962
- Population: 771,406
--- 46.5% white
--- 7% Black
--- 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 16.5% Asian
#40. Yuba County
- Median Income: $62,666
- Population: 80,404
--- 69.2% white
--- 3.6% Black
--- 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.2% Asian
#39. Imperial County
- Median Income: $49,078
- Population: 180,051
--- 48% white
--- 2.7% Black
--- 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.4% Asian
#38. Trinity County
- Median Income: $42,206
- Population: 15,818
--- 82.4% white
--- 0.6% Black
--- 3.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.1% Asian
#37. San Bernardino County
- Median Income: $70,287
- Population: 2,171,071
--- 50.7% white
--- 8% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.5% Asian
#36. Los Angeles County
- Median Income: $76,367
- Population: 10,019,635
--- 43.7% white
--- 7.9% Black
--- 1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 14.8% Asian
#35. Siskiyou County
- Median Income: $49,857
- Population: 44,151
--- 81.8% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 3.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.5% Asian
#34. Stanislaus County
- Median Income: $68,368
- Population: 550,842
--- 64.8% white
--- 3% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 5.8% Asian
#33. Riverside County
- Median Income: $76,066
- Population: 2,409,331
--- 51.2% white
--- 6.5% Black
--- 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 6.8% Asian
#32. Ventura County
- Median Income: $94,150
- Population: 845,255
--- 70.1% white
--- 1.8% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.3% Asian
#31. Inyo County
- Median Income: $60,925
- Population: 18,804
--- 74% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 11.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.6% Asian
#30. Shasta County
- Median Income: $61,937
- Population: 181,935
--- 83.3% white
--- 1.1% Black
--- 2.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.3% Asian
#29. Butte County
- Median Income: $59,863
- Population: 217,884
--- 77.8% white
--- 1.8% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 5% Asian
#28. Napa County
- Median Income: $97,498
- Population: 138,795
--- 67% white
--- 2.1% Black
--- 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.8% Asian
#27. Lassen County
- Median Income: $59,292
- Population: 32,949
--- 75.7% white
--- 8.6% Black
--- 2.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.6% Asian
#26. Marin County
- Median Income: $131,008
- Population: 262,387
--- 75.3% white
--- 2.3% Black
--- 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 6.1% Asian
#25. Sacramento County
- Median Income: $76,422
- Population: 1,571,767
--- 52.1% white
--- 9.7% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 16.9% Asian
#24. Santa Cruz County
- Median Income: $96,093
- Population: 272,138
--- 68.5% white
--- 1.1% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 4.9% Asian
#23. Yolo County
- Median Income: $78,386
- Population: 216,703
--- 63.3% white
--- 2.6% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 14.5% Asian
#22. Humboldt County
- Median Income: $53,350
- Population: 137,014
--- 76.3% white
--- 1.3% Black
--- 4.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.2% Asian
#21. San Benito County
- Median Income: $95,606
- Population: 63,329
--- 62.7% white
--- 1% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.1% Asian
#20. Orange County
- Median Income: $100,485
- Population: 3,182,923
--- 53.6% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 21.3% Asian
#19. Sonoma County
- Median Income: $91,607
- Population: 492,498
--- 70.4% white
--- 1.6% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 4.4% Asian
#18. Solano County
- Median Income: $89,648
- Population: 451,432
--- 48.5% white
--- 13.4% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 15.6% Asian
#17. Contra Costa County
- Median Income: $110,455
- Population: 1,161,643
--- 50% white
--- 8.6% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 17.8% Asian
#16. Plumas County
- Median Income: $57,885
- Population: 19,631
--- 88.6% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.7% Asian
#15. San Diego County
- Median Income: $88,240
- Population: 3,296,317
--- 62% white
--- 4.9% Black
--- 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 12% Asian
#14. Tuolumne County
- Median Income: $66,846
- Population: 55,243
--- 85.4% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.4% Asian
#13. Alameda County
- Median Income: $112,017
- Population: 1,673,133
--- 35.9% white
--- 10.2% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 31.6% Asian
#12. Calaveras County
- Median Income: $70,119
- Population: 45,349
--- 84.6% white
--- 1% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.2% Asian
#11. Amador County
- Median Income: $69,955
- Population: 40,095
--- 81.8% white
--- 2.5% Black
--- 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.1% Asian
#10. San Luis Obispo County
- Median Income: $82,514
- Population: 282,771
--- 79.9% white
--- 1.5% Black
--- 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.6% Asian
#9. Mariposa County
- Median Income: $53,304
- Population: 17,225
--- 85.8% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 2.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.1% Asian
#8. Mono County
- Median Income: $71,138
- Population: 13,291
--- 80.3% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 1.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 4.6% Asian
#7. Nevada County
- Median Income: $74,617
- Population: 102,090
--- 90.5% white
--- 0.4% Black
--- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.2% Asian
#6. El Dorado County
- Median Income: $88,770
- Population: 190,568
--- 84.7% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 5% Asian
#5. Sierra County
- Median Income: $56,152
- Population: 3,079
--- 90.2% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
#4. Placer County
- Median Income: $99,734
- Population: 400,330
--- 77.8% white
--- 1.6% Black
--- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 8.5% Asian
#3. Santa Clara County
- Median Income: $140,258
- Population: 1,932,022
--- 39% white
--- 2.5% Black
--- 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 38.1% Asian
#2. San Mateo County
- Median Income: $136,837
- Population: 762,488
--- 45.9% white
--- 2.4% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 29.9% Asian
#1. San Francisco
- Median Income: $126,187
- Population: 865,933
--- 43.4% white
--- 5.2% Black
--- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 34.4% Asian
This story features data reporting and writing by Dom DiFurio and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.