What is Economic Mobility?
“Economic mobility refers to the ability of individuals, families, or groups to improve or lower their economic status over time. It’s essentially the freedom to move up or down the economic ladder, often measured by changes in income or wealth. This movement can occur within a person’s lifetime or across generations.
The following is a study on Wichita Economic Mobility:
Introduction
Overview. This report provides data on economic mobility in Wichita, KS between 1978 and 2019. The information in this report supports ST’s (Stand Together) place-based initiatives by describing economic mobility outcomes for Wichita’s lowest income residents over time.
Data Collection. Data for this report were collected from The Opportunity Atlas. The Atlas contains data on household income at age 27 for cohorts of children born in 1978 (adulthood income measured in 2005) and 1992 (2019). To measure economic mobility among the lowest income households, analysis was limited to members of this cohort who were born into the bottom 25th percentile of household incomes.
Analysis. This report provides three economic mobility measures for the 100 most populous Metropolitan-Statistical-Areas (MSA) in the United States. Each MSA is ranked based on 1) adulthood household income for children born in low-income households in 1978, 2) adulthood household income for children born in low-income households in 1992, and 3) percent change in adulthood household income for children born in low-income households between 1978 and 1992.
Benchmark City Selection. Seven cities were selected as comparison cities to add context to Wichita’s ranking. Charlotte, NC was chosen based on its dramatic improvement in economic mobility, Omaha, NE and Tulsa, OK was chosen based on having reasonably similar population sizes and demographics compared to Wichita. ST’s Radius cities (Dallas, Grand Rapids, Memphis, and Oklahoma City) were used as further points of comparison.
Key Takeaways
- Wichita ranks 54th among MSAs for percent change in economic mobility. In 2005, children born into low-income households in Wichita in 1978 earned an average household income of $32k. In 2019, this had dropped to $30.4k for low-income children born in 1992, 4.4 percent less than the 1978 cohort. This is approximately equivalent to the national percent change in economic mobility.
- Wichita marginally increased in rank from 41st to 40th. Wichita’s ranking changed minimally between the two cohorts, while several other benchmark cities’ rankings improved notably. Grand Rapids (+37 spots), Dallas (+33), Omaha (+22), and Charlotte (+19) notably improved their rankings, while Oklahoma City (+2) and Memphis (+1) saw modest changes. Only Tulsa (-6) saw a decrease.
The following charts rank MSAs based on each of the three economic mobility metrics. Each snapshot displays the top and bottom five MSAs, the benchmark cities (light blue), Wichita (dark blue), and similarly ranked cities for additional context.
Ranking for 1978 Cohort
Ranking for 1992 Cohort
Ranking for % Change
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