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Counties where children have the best opportunity for economic mobility in Pennsylvania

Written by:
January 23, 2024
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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 Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania 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.

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#50. Northumberland County

- Economic connectedness: 0.8
- Median Income: $51,005
- Population: 91,853
--- 93.2% white
--- 2.5% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
2 / 50
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#49. Cambria County

- Economic connectedness: 0.8
- Median Income: $51,018
- Population: 134,048
--- 92.8% white
--- 3.7% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
3 / 50
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#48. Lebanon County

- Economic connectedness: 0.81
- Median Income: $66,164
- Population: 142,486
--- 84.3% white
--- 2.2% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.5% Asian
4 / 50
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#47. Potter County

- Economic connectedness: 0.81
- Median Income: $50,944
- Population: 16,478
--- 96.7% white
--- 0.4% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
5 / 50
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#46. Huntingdon County

- Economic connectedness: 0.81
- Median Income: $57,055
- Population: 44,458
--- 90.8% white
--- 5.2% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
6 / 50
The American Explorer // Shutterstock

#45. Lawrence County

- Economic connectedness: 0.81
- Median Income: $53,106
- Population: 86,311
--- 91.7% white
--- 3.6% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
7 / 50
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#44. Clarion County

- Economic connectedness: 0.82
- Median Income: $53,096
- Population: 37,571
--- 95.8% white
--- 1.5% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
8 / 50
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#43. Bradford County

- Economic connectedness: 0.82
- Median Income: $54,383
- Population: 60,233
--- 96% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.6% Asian
9 / 50
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#42. Clinton County

- Economic connectedness: 0.82
- Median Income: $53,792
- Population: 37,824
--- 95.3% white
--- 1.2% Black
--- 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.7% Asian
10 / 50
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#41. Greene County

- Economic connectedness: 0.82
- Median Income: $57,497
- Population: 36,248
--- 93% white
--- 3% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
11 / 50
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#40. Forest County

- Economic connectedness: 0.83
- Median Income: $43,958
- Population: 7,121
--- 74.4% white
--- 17.9% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.7% Asian
12 / 50
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#39. Lackawanna County

- Economic connectedness: 0.83
- Median Income: $58,366
- Population: 215,529
--- 87.6% white
--- 2.7% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.9% Asian
13 / 50
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#38. Tioga County

- Economic connectedness: 0.84
- Median Income: $54,671
- Population: 41,089
--- 96.7% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
14 / 50
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#37. Somerset County

- Economic connectedness: 0.84
- Median Income: $54,332
- Population: 74,331
--- 94.5% white
--- 2.4% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
15 / 50
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#36. Elk County

- Economic connectedness: 0.84
- Median Income: $57,551
- Population: 31,037
--- 96.7% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
16 / 50
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#35. Schuylkill County

- Economic connectedness: 0.84
- Median Income: $57,785
- Population: 143,308
--- 92.2% white
--- 2.9% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
17 / 50
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#34. Bedford County

- Economic connectedness: 0.85
- Median Income: $54,596
- Population: 47,729
--- 96.9% white
--- 0.8% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
18 / 50
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#33. Lycoming County

- Economic connectedness: 0.85
- Median Income: $58,177
- Population: 114,274
--- 90.4% white
--- 4.9% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.8% Asian
19 / 50
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#32. Juniata County

- Economic connectedness: 0.85
- Median Income: $56,382
- Population: 23,607
--- 95.5% white
--- 1.2% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
20 / 50
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#31. Franklin County

- Economic connectedness: 0.86
- Median Income: $66,329
- Population: 155,592
--- 90.1% white
--- 3.7% Black
--- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.8% Asian
21 / 50
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#30. Indiana County

- Economic connectedness: 0.86
- Median Income: $52,546
- Population: 83,620
--- 93.6% white
--- 2.2% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
22 / 50
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#29. Susquehanna County

- Economic connectedness: 0.86
- Median Income: $59,391
- Population: 38,892
--- 96.7% white
--- 0.6% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
23 / 50
Orlowski Designs LLC // Shutterstock

#28. Beaver County

- Economic connectedness: 0.87
- Median Income: $62,152
- Population: 168,260
--- 89% white
--- 6% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
24 / 50
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#27. Fulton County

- Economic connectedness: 0.88
- Median Income: $58,343
- Population: 14,529
--- 95.6% white
--- 1.4% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
25 / 50
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#26. Armstrong County

- Economic connectedness: 0.88
- Median Income: $56,838
- Population: 65,967
--- 96.9% white
--- 1% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
26 / 50
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#25. Delaware County

- Economic connectedness: 0.88
- Median Income: $80,398
- Population: 573,883
--- 66.6% white
--- 21.8% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 6% Asian
27 / 50
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#24. Allegheny County

- Economic connectedness: 0.88
- Median Income: $66,659
- Population: 1,246,116
--- 78.4% white
--- 12.7% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.9% Asian
28 / 50
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#23. York County

- Economic connectedness: 0.88
- Median Income: $72,543
- Population: 454,605
--- 85.9% white
--- 5.9% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.5% Asian
29 / 50
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#22. Lancaster County

- Economic connectedness: 0.89
- Median Income: $73,688
- Population: 550,480
--- 86% white
--- 4% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.4% Asian
30 / 50
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#21. Wyoming County

- Economic connectedness: 0.89
- Median Income: $62,795
- Population: 26,389
--- 95.5% white
--- 1% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
31 / 50
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#20. Snyder County

- Economic connectedness: 0.89
- Median Income: $62,951
- Population: 39,877
--- 95.6% white
--- 1% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.6% Asian
32 / 50
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#19. Columbia County

- Economic connectedness: 0.9
- Median Income: $55,572
- Population: 65,013
--- 94.2% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
33 / 50
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#18. Sullivan County

- Economic connectedness: 0.91
- Median Income: $54,074
- Population: 5,935
--- 93.7% white
--- 3.5% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
34 / 50
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#17. Washington County

- Economic connectedness: 0.92
- Median Income: $68,787
- Population: 209,090
--- 92.2% white
--- 3.4% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
35 / 50
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#16. Westmoreland County

- Economic connectedness: 0.92
- Median Income: $64,708
- Population: 355,107
--- 93.6% white
--- 2.3% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
36 / 50
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#15. Union County

- Economic connectedness: 0.92
- Median Income: $61,807
- Population: 43,094
--- 87.1% white
--- 6.9% Black
--- 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.7% Asian
37 / 50
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#14. Carbon County

- Economic connectedness: 0.94
- Median Income: $59,289
- Population: 64,792
--- 93.5% white
--- 1.9% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
38 / 50
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#13. Perry County

- Economic connectedness: 0.95
- Median Income: $72,922
- Population: 45,879
--- 95.6% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
39 / 50
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#12. Northampton County

- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $77,103
- Population: 311,359
--- 81% white
--- 6% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.9% Asian
40 / 50
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#11. Adams County

- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $72,492
- Population: 103,782
--- 92.2% white
--- 1.6% Black
--- 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.8% Asian
41 / 50
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#10. Wayne County

- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $56,744
- Population: 51,244
--- 91.8% white
--- 3.3% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.7% Asian
42 / 50
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#9. Monroe County

- Economic connectedness: 0.98
- Median Income: $72,679
- Population: 168,128
--- 73% white
--- 14.2% Black
--- 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.6% Asian
43 / 50
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#8. Cumberland County

- Economic connectedness: 0.99
- Median Income: $77,001
- Population: 257,333
--- 85.9% white
--- 4.2% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 4.8% Asian
44 / 50
Sabrina Janelle Gordon // Shutterstock

#7. Butler County

- Economic connectedness: 1.01
- Median Income: $77,065
- Population: 192,561
--- 94.9% white
--- 1% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.3% Asian
45 / 50
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#6. Chester County

- Economic connectedness: 1.01
- Median Income: $109,969
- Population: 531,704
--- 81.8% white
--- 5.6% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 6% Asian
46 / 50
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#5. Pike County

- Economic connectedness: 1.04
- Median Income: $71,360
- Population: 58,345
--- 84.7% white
--- 6.3% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.5% Asian
47 / 50
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#4. Montour County

- Economic connectedness: 1.05
- Median Income: $64,858
- Population: 18,198
--- 92% white
--- 2% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.5% Asian
48 / 50
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#3. Montgomery County

- Economic connectedness: 1.05
- Median Income: $99,361
- Population: 850,890
--- 77.1% white
--- 9.2% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.7% Asian
49 / 50
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#2. Centre County

- Economic connectedness: 1.08
- Median Income: $64,995
- Population: 158,879
--- 86.3% white
--- 3.5% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 6.2% Asian
50 / 50
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#1. Bucks County

- Economic connectedness: 1.09
- Median Income: $99,302
- Population: 643,872
--- 85.1% white
--- 3.9% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 4.8% Asian

This story features data reporting and writing by Dom DiFurio and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

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