<commit_before>---
title: Opportunity barriers for Chattanooga youth
date: 2017-09-11 10:00:00 -04:00
published: false
categories:
- Economy
tags:
- Hamilton County
- Chattanooga
lead: Exploring economic mobility in Chattanooga's youth.
author:
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
image:
  file: "/media/mdc-cover.jpg"
  alt: Ladder leaning against white wall.
layout: research-article
---

A child's prospects of earning more than his or her parents have fallen 40 percent over the past half-century, according to data from the Equality of Opportunity Project.

Barriers to economic mobility are most acute in the South, where segregation, income inequality, local school quality, and family structure strongly correlate with geographical differences in upward mobility.

For example, a child who grows up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with parents who earn in the 10th percentile ends up, on average, in the 33rd percentile. Approximately 6 percent move from the bottom quintile to the top.

<figure style="margin-bottom:40px;">
  <table>
    <caption>Upward Mobility in the 50 Biggest U.S. Cities — The Top 5 and Bottom 5</caption>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th style="width:15%;">Rank</th>
        <th>City</th>
        <th>Odds of Reaching Top 5th Starting from Bottom 5th</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <tr><td>1</td><td>San Jose, CA</td><td>12.90%</td></tr>
      <tr><td>2</td><td>San Francisco, CA</td><td>12.20%</td></tr>
      <tr><td>3</td><td>Washington, D.C.</td><td>11.00%</td></tr>
      <tr><td>4</td><td>Seattle, WA</td><td>10.90%</td></tr><commit_msg>Updated Opportunity Barriers For Chattanooga Youth<commit_after>---
title: Opportunity barriers for Chattanooga youth
date: 2017-09-11 10:00:00 -04:00
published: false
categories:
- Economy
tags:
- Hamilton County
- Chattanooga
lead: Exploring economic mobility in Chattanooga's youth.
author:
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
- <NAME>
image:
  file: "/media/mdc-cover.jpg"
  alt: Ladder leaning against white wall.
about: 'Metro Ideas Project conducted focus groups and interviews with Chattanooga
  youth and employers on behalf of the Network for Southern Economic Mobility Initiative
  in 2017. '
layout: research-article
---

A child's prospects of earning more than his or her parents have fallen 40 percent over the past half-century, according to data from the Equality of Opportunity Project.

Barriers to economic mobility are most acute in the South, where segregation, income inequality, local school quality, and family structure strongly correlate with geographical differences in upward mobility.

For example, a child who grows up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with parents who earn in the 10th percentile ends up, on average, in the 33rd percentile. Approximately 6 percent move from the bottom quintile to the top.

<figure style="margin-bottom:40px;">
  <table>
    <caption>Upward Mobility in the 50 Biggest U.S. Cities — The Top 5 and Bottom 5</caption>
    <thead>
      <tr>
        <th style="width:15%;">Rank</th>
        <th>City</th>
        <th>Odds of Reaching Top 5th Starting from Bottom 5th</th>
      </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
      <tr><td>1</td><td>San Jose, CA</td><td>12.90%</td></tr>
      <tr><td>2</td><td>San Francisco, CA</td><td>12.20%</td></tr>
      <tr><td>3</td><td>Washington, D.C.</td><td>11.00%</td></tr>
      <tr><td>4</td><td>Seattle, WA</td><td>10.90%</td></tr>
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