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Pew Study: Americans In The Northeast Have More Economic Mobility

A new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts finds economic mobility differs significantly across the United States. The report finds Americans are more likely to move up the economic ladder if they live in the northeast.

The states with the highest mobility rankings are Maryland, New York and New Jersey. During the 10-year period studied, residents there were more likely to have experienced stronger income growth and to have raised their economic standing relative to other Americans. People in those states were also less likely to be downwardly mobile. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Utah also scored well.

"The fact that different state residents experienced different rates of mobility means where you live matters," said Erin Currier, director of Pew's Economic Mobility Project.

Nine states in the South, including Texas and Florida, had worse economic mobility than the national average. Oklahoma, Louisiana and South Carolina had the lowest scores. Currier says other Pew studies have identified the factors that most affect mobility.

"We know that there are certain drivers of mobility and they include things like educational attainment, savings and asset building and neighborhood poverty during childhood, among other things," said Currier.

Two-thirds of African-Americans grew up in poor neighborhoods, and they are less likely to move up the economic ladder and more likely to move down than other Americans.

(John Ydstie is correspondent for NPR.)

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.