One of the core tenets of the American Dream is that, through hard work, any child born in the U.S. can climb the socioeconomic ladder and achieve their own version of success. However, by this yardstick, the American Dream is fading fast.
According to Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-based research organization, over 90% of Americans born in the 1940s earned more in adulthood than their parents did. Now, after decades of declining economic mobility, fewer than 50% of all Americans born in the 1980s earn more than their parents at a comparable age.
A study conducted by Opportunity Insights found that the average income of an American born in 1992 - into a household in the lowest earning quartile - had an average household income of just $30,235 by age 27. Meanwhile, an American born into a low-income household in 1978 earned an average income of $31,552 at age 27.
In many parts of the United States, the opportunity for upward mobility has diminished far faster than average, indicating a regional disparity in economic prospects for low-income residents.
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