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 South Dakota 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.
#50. Beadle County
- Economic connectedness: 0.7
- Median Income: $56,692
- Population: 18,959
--- 76.5% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 7.7% Asian
#49. Pennington County
- Economic connectedness: 0.84
- Median Income: $62,546
- Population: 108,707
--- 80.6% white
--- 1.2% Black
--- 8.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.2% Asian
#48. Walworth County
- Economic connectedness: 0.85
- Median Income: $51,746
- Population: 5,355
--- 79.5% white
--- 3.7% Black
--- 12% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.2% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Tripp County
- Economic connectedness: 0.86
- Median Income: $52,274
- Population: 5,615
--- 79.6% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 16% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Marshall County
- Economic connectedness: 0.9
- Median Income: $69,236
- Population: 4,373
--- 84% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 7.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
#45. Fall River County
- Economic connectedness: 0.9
- Median Income: $51,007
- Population: 6,979
--- 84.7% white
--- 0% Black
--- 8.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
Steven Frame // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Minnehaha County
- Economic connectedness: 0.9
- Median Income: $66,502
- Population: 194,884
--- 83.2% white
--- 6.1% Black
--- 2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Moody County
- Economic connectedness: 0.9
- Median Income: $66,000
- Population: 6,335
--- 77.3% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 11.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2% Asian
#42. Butte County
- Economic connectedness: 0.93
- Median Income: $48,941
- Population: 10,167
--- 91% white
--- 0.4% Black
--- 1.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.2% Asian
#41. Yankton County
- Economic connectedness: 0.94
- Median Income: $67,052
- Population: 23,213
--- 89.5% white
--- 1.4% Black
--- 3.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.2% Asian
#40. Brule County
- Economic connectedness: 0.94
- Median Income: $60,857
- Population: 5,247
--- 83.7% white
--- 1.2% Black
--- 13.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Hamlin County
- Economic connectedness: 0.94
- Median Income: $71,923
- Population: 6,127
--- 96.2% white
--- 0.2% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
#38. Hughes County
- Economic connectedness: 0.95
- Median Income: $77,725
- Population: 17,829
--- 81.7% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 11.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Gregory County
- Economic connectedness: 0.95
- Median Income: $44,654
- Population: 4,004
--- 88.1% white
--- 1.2% Black
--- 7.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
J K Laws // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Davison County
- Economic connectedness: 0.96
- Median Income: $50,900
- Population: 19,944
--- 92.1% white
--- 0.8% Black
--- 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.9% Asian
#35. Grant County
- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $70,483
- Population: 7,550
--- 92.9% white
--- 0.3% Black
--- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Brown County
- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $63,805
- Population: 38,471
--- 86.6% white
--- 2.5% Black
--- 3.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.5% Asian
#33. Stanley County
- Economic connectedness: 0.98
- Median Income: $76,402
- Population: 2,963
--- 91.1% white
--- 0.6% Black
--- 3.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Jerauld County
- Economic connectedness: 1.
- Median Income: $58,375
- Population: 1,811
--- 91.3% white
--- 0% Black
--- 1.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
#31. Meade County
- Economic connectedness: 1.01
- Median Income: $68,242
- Population: 29,561
--- 89.3% white
--- 1.8% Black
--- 2.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
#30. Sanborn County
- Economic connectedness: 1.01
- Median Income: $58,409
- Population: 2,371
--- 96% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
melissamn // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Aurora County
- Economic connectedness: 1.02
- Median Income: $64,960
- Population: 2,649
--- 94.3% white
--- 1.1% Black
--- 2.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
#28. Custer County
- Economic connectedness: 1.03
- Median Income: $68,736
- Population: 8,360
--- 91.4% white
--- 0.8% Black
--- 2.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
#27. Haakon County
- Economic connectedness: 1.03
- Median Income: $51,016
- Population: 1,868
--- 94.1% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 3.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
#26. Codington County
- Economic connectedness: 1.04
- Median Income: $61,496
- Population: 28,289
--- 92.9% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 2.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.6% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Hyde County
- Economic connectedness: 1.04
- Median Income: $66,328
- Population: 1,381
--- 92.3% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
#24. Lawrence County
- Economic connectedness: 1.04
- Median Income: $56,166
- Population: 25,687
--- 92% white
--- 1% Black
--- 2.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.7% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Clark County
- Economic connectedness: 1.04
- Median Income: $54,473
- Population: 3,791
--- 94.4% white
--- 0.6% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
vagabond54 // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Day County
- Economic connectedness: 1.05
- Median Income: $52,775
- Population: 5,487
--- 86.1% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 10.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
#21. Lake County
- Economic connectedness: 1.07
- Median Income: $67,297
- Population: 11,358
--- 93.8% white
--- 0.4% Black
--- 2.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Edmunds County
- Economic connectedness: 1.07
- Median Income: $69,732
- Population: 4,005
--- 96.3% white
--- 0.3% Black
--- 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Spink County
- Economic connectedness: 1.08
- Median Income: $63,802
- Population: 6,408
--- 94.6% white
--- 1.7% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
Bennekom // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Bon Homme County
- Economic connectedness: 1.1
- Median Income: $53,575
- Population: 7,020
--- 86.8% white
--- 1.6% Black
--- 6.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.2% Asian
#17. Clay County
- Economic connectedness: 1.12
- Median Income: $56,077
- Population: 14,816
--- 86.5% white
--- 1.8% Black
--- 3.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.9% Asian
#16. Brookings County
- Economic connectedness: 1.12
- Median Income: $59,178
- Population: 34,315
--- 90.6% white
--- 1.3% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.1% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Douglas County
- Economic connectedness: 1.12
- Median Income: $66,750
- Population: 2,838
--- 94.2% white
--- 1.5% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
Danita Delimont // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Hutchinson County
- Economic connectedness: 1.12
- Median Income: $62,448
- Population: 7,412
--- 92.8% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
Patrick Ziegler // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. McCook County
- Economic connectedness: 1.13
- Median Income: $72,063
- Population: 5,676
--- 95.6% white
--- 0.2% Black
--- 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Turner County
- Economic connectedness: 1.14
- Median Income: $66,199
- Population: 8,621
--- 95.8% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Perkins County
- Economic connectedness: 1.15
- Median Income: $59,432
- Population: 2,977
--- 94.4% white
--- 0% Black
--- 2.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.9% Asian
#10. Lincoln County
- Economic connectedness: 1.16
- Median Income: $87,560
- Population: 63,233
--- 92.6% white
--- 2.2% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.5% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. McPherson County
- Economic connectedness: 1.16
- Median Income: $54,324
- Population: 2,245
--- 96.3% white
--- 1.3% Black
--- 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
#8. Kingsbury County
- Economic connectedness: 1.16
- Median Income: $62,634
- Population: 5,131
--- 95.4% white
--- 0% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
Sabrina Janelle Gordon // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Union County
- Economic connectedness: 1.18
- Median Income: $80,238
- Population: 16,424
--- 92% white
--- 0.4% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.5% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Deuel County
- Economic connectedness: 1.18
- Median Income: $70,808
- Population: 4,283
--- 97.8% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
#5. Miner County
- Economic connectedness: 1.19
- Median Income: $56,351
- Population: 2,293
--- 94.3% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.9% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Hand County
- Economic connectedness: 1.21
- Median Income: $61,121
- Population: 3,061
--- 94.4% white
--- 0.2% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Hanson County
- Economic connectedness: 1.21
- Median Income: $75,132
- Population: 3,429
--- 96.6% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
SevenMaps // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Faulk County
- Economic connectedness: 1.22
- Median Income: $53,056
- Population: 2,157
--- 97.2% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Potter County
- Economic connectedness: 1.24
- Median Income: $59,408
- Population: 2,613
--- 91.1% white
--- 0.2% Black
--- 2.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 2.3% Asian
This story features data reporting and writing by Dom DiFurio and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
