Indicator: Economic mobility
Definition
Individuals reach the level of earnings needed to enter the fourth income quintile or above, regardless of field of study.
RECOMMENDED METRIC(S)
Percentage of individuals who reach the level of earnings needed to enter the fourth (60th to 80th percentile) income quintile in their state or above 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 years after completing their highest degree or leaving education (high school or postsecondary)
Type(s) of Data Needed
Administrative dataWhy it matters
Upward mobility is an important dimension of equitable opportunity and a central feature of an inclusive economy. In an equitable society, individuals should be able to access opportunities that allow them to be economically mobile despite their social class of origin. Students at approximately two-thirds of four-year institutions—both public and private—achieve economic mobility as defined by our proposed metric. However, students who attended public two-year institutions are significantly less likely to meet economic mobility thresholds than those who attended four-year colleges. Much of the research on economic mobility focuses on intergenerational mobility, comparing household income levels during childhood to income levels in adulthood. Rates of intergenerational upward mobility are lower for Black and Indigenous individuals compared to White and Latino individuals.
What to know about measurement
Measuring this indicator at the individual level requires linking data from the K–12, postsecondary, and workforce sectors or surveying graduates about their earnings, which states can do with their state longitudinal data systems. To calculate this metric, institutions would need to track the earnings of their students and determine whether those earnings fall above the appropriate threshold. To determine this threshold, institutions can use the 60th percentile of earnings in the state where the individual resides. An alternative and more feasible approach is to base the threshold on the state where the institution is located; however, this approach may be less relevant in locations where a high share of graduates move out of the state.
We acknowledge that much of the literature on “economic mobility” defines it as intergenerational. For example, Chetty et al. define it as “the fraction of students who come from families in the bottom income quintile and reach the top quintile.” However, measuring mobility in this way requires comprehensive longitudinal data sets. Our proposed indicator of mobility focuses on whether individuals reach certain earnings thresholds, regardless of their parents’ economic status, drawing on work by the Postsecondary Value Commission. A measure of whether individuals reach a certain level of earnings can be collected more feasibly at scale. In addition, even among families that were not low income a generation ago, there are barriers to achieving a high level of earnings today, especially for people of color. For example, Black Americans are more likely to experience downward mobility than White Americans.
E-W Case Studies
Source frameworks
This indicator appeared in three source frameworks reviewed for this report. Our proposed measure aligns with work by the Postsecondary Value Commission. The metric proposed by the Postsecondary Value Commission builds on a measure included in Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards, which define economic mobility as whether students in the bottom quintile reach the top earnings quintile.
References
The framework's recommendations are based on syntheses of existing research. Please see the framework report for a list of works cited.