Stacker Studio

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

Written by:
January 23, 2024
Canva

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 Wyoming

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 Wyoming 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.

1 / 23
sean_in_307 // Shutterstock

#23. Fremont County

- Economic connectedness: 0.74
- Median Income: $57,887
- Population: 39,434
--- 71.5% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 20.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
2 / 23
Fsendek // Shutterstock

#22. Washakie County

- Economic connectedness: 0.91
- Median Income: $62,271
- Population: 7,768
--- 85.7% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
3 / 23
Canva

#21. Natrona County

- Economic connectedness: 0.91
- Median Income: $64,100
- Population: 79,382
--- 92.2% white
--- 0.8% Black
--- 1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.5% Asian
4 / 23
Canva

#20. Carbon County

- Economic connectedness: 0.92
- Median Income: $62,654
- Population: 14,714
--- 87.5% white
--- 1.1% Black
--- 1.8% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.7% Asian
5 / 23
Canva

#19. Laramie County

- Economic connectedness: 0.92
- Median Income: $71,550
- Population: 99,905
--- 86.2% white
--- 2.4% Black
--- 1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.1% Asian
6 / 23
Canva

#18. Platte County

- Economic connectedness: 0.94
- Median Income: $59,402
- Population: 8,607
--- 90.5% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.7% Asian
7 / 23
Canva

#17. Uinta County

- Economic connectedness: 0.95
- Median Income: $75,106
- Population: 20,514
--- 92.1% white
--- 0.3% Black
--- 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.2% Asian
8 / 23
Canva

#16. Campbell County

- Economic connectedness: 0.96
- Median Income: $87,547
- Population: 46,758
--- 90.2% white
--- 0.3% Black
--- 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.1% Asian
9 / 23
Canva

#15. Sweetwater County

- Economic connectedness: 0.96
- Median Income: $76,668
- Population: 42,459
--- 86.8% white
--- 1.2% Black
--- 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.1% Asian
10 / 23
Alberto Loyo // Shutterstock

#14. Big Horn County

- Economic connectedness: 0.96
- Median Income: $56,059
- Population: 11,671
--- 90.2% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.6% Asian
11 / 23
Canva

#13. Goshen County

- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $58,318
- Population: 12,642
--- 90.2% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.9% Asian
12 / 23
Canva

#12. Niobrara County

- Economic connectedness: 0.97
- Median Income: $48,688
- Population: 2,486
--- 93% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 2.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
13 / 23
Steve Cukrov // Shutterstock

#11. Weston County

- Economic connectedness: 0.98
- Median Income: $65,566
- Population: 6,891
--- 89.3% white
--- 0.4% Black
--- 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.8% Asian
14 / 23
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock

#10. Converse County

- Economic connectedness: 0.98
- Median Income: $73,698
- Population: 13,702
--- 95.5% white
--- 0.2% Black
--- 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
15 / 23
Ems Images // Shutterstock

#9. Sheridan County

- Economic connectedness: 0.99
- Median Income: $62,531
- Population: 30,812
--- 93.6% white
--- 0.5% Black
--- 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1% Asian
16 / 23
melissamn // Shutterstock

#8. Hot Springs County

- Economic connectedness: 1.01
- Median Income: $60,805
- Population: 4,673
--- 94.5% white
--- 0% Black
--- 2.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
17 / 23
davidrh // Shutterstock

#7. Park County

- Economic connectedness: 1.04
- Median Income: $62,586
- Population: 29,664
--- 92.9% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
18 / 23
C Rolan // Shutterstock

#6. Teton County

- Economic connectedness: 1.08
- Median Income: $94,498
- Population: 23,319
--- 85.2% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 1.6% Asian
19 / 23
Jess Kraft // Shutterstock

#5. Johnson County

- Economic connectedness: 1.08
- Median Income: $58,020
- Population: 8,457
--- 92.6% white
--- 0.7% Black
--- 2.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.6% Asian
20 / 23
Michele Vacchiano // Shutterstock

#4. Lincoln County

- Economic connectedness: 1.08
- Median Income: $74,835
- Population: 19,457
--- 95% white
--- 0.1% Black
--- 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.4% Asian
21 / 23
CSNafzger // Shutterstock

#3. Sublette County

- Economic connectedness: 1.08
- Median Income: $82,342
- Population: 8,830
--- 96% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0% Asian
22 / 23
Zack Frank // Shutterstock

#2. Crook County

- Economic connectedness: 1.1
- Median Income: $67,835
- Population: 7,185
--- 94.9% white
--- 0% Black
--- 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 0.3% Asian
23 / 23
Canva

#1. Albany County

- Economic connectedness: 1.17
- Median Income: $50,733
- Population: 37,311
--- 87.4% white
--- 0.9% Black
--- 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native
--- 3.8% Asian

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

Trending Now