Measuring Upward Mobility in Counties and Cities Across the US (Updates)
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Last updated June 30, 2023

 

The Mobility Metrics Data Tables were last updated with the following changes:

The following data were corrected on February 14, 2024:

  • The county-level data for the "Household income at the 20th, 50th, and 80th percentiles" and "Employment-to-population ratio for adults ages 25 to 54" in the Summary and Detail tabs show 2021 data. The previous values showed 2018 data.  
  • The city-level data for the "Household income at the 20th, 50th, and 80th percentiles" have been corrected. The previous values were incorrect because of a coding error with missing data from the Census Bureau.

Updated June 30, 2023:

  • The data sources for the “Access to preschool,” “Preparation for college,” and “Employment opportunities” data tables for counties and cities were corrected. The data on the “Summary” and “Detail” tabs are derived from the US Census Bureau’s 2021 1-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (via IPUMS), not the 2017–2021 5-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (via IPUMS), as previously listed.
  • The data sources on the “More Data” tab for the “Access to preschool,” “Preparation for college,” and “Employment opportunities” data tables for cities were corrected to include the US Census Bureau’s 2018 and 2021 1-Year American Community Survey. The source was previously listed as only the 2017–2021 5-Year American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (via IPUMS).
  • In all data tables, the row label “Quality” was changed to “Data Quality” for clarity.
  • Several changes were made to the “Housing affordability” data table:
    • The wording of the metric was corrected to reflect that the calculated values indicate affordable housing only, not affordable and available housing.
    • On the “Detail” tab, the table notes were updated to clarify the definition of affordability and what values below 100 suggest.
    • On the “More Data” tab for counties, the source was corrected to the US Census Bureau’s 2018 and 2021 1-Year American Community Survey. The source was previously listed as the 2017–2021 5-Year American Community Survey.
    • On the “Metrics Description” page (accessed via the “Visit here for more details about this predictor” link), the description of the “Housing affordability” metric was corrected to indicate that the metric does not account for availability of affordable units and to add information to the “Limitations” section.

Updated May 24, 2023, to add a suggested citation.

Updated April 27, 2023.


Future updates are expected in Spring 2024 and Spring 2025 that will incorporate forthcoming data and enhance the data tables’ interface.