Bexar County is among the worst counties in the United States to help children climb the income ladder in their adulthood. That's according to a new interactive tool from The New York Times, which tracks how one's economic mobility potential is impacted by the county in which he or she grew up.
Out of the 2,478 counties tracked, Bexar County ranks 346th, "better than only about 14 percent of counties," according to The Times. Among the nine counties in the San Antonio area, San Antonio ranked dead last in helping children climb up the income ladder for children of all sexes and income levels, except for males in the top 1 percent, naturally. In that category, Bexar County ranks sixth, so even the richest of the rich don't have it as good in other places. The average income of children who spend 20 years growing up in Bexar County is expected to be anywhere from $1,700 to $1,980 less a year when compared to the annual income for the average county measured.
You can take a look at the numbers breakdown here.
The best area county for a child to grow up in to increase upward economic mobility potential is Live Oak County. Allow The Times to explain:
If you’re poor and live in the San Antonio area, it’s better to be in Live Oak County than in Guadalupe County or Bexar County. Not only that, the younger you are when you move to Live Oak, the better you will do on average. Children who move at earlier ages are less likely to become single parents, more likely to go to college and more likely to earn more.
Every year a poor child spends in Live Oak County adds about $150 to his or her annual household income at age 26, compared with a childhood spent in the average American county. Over the course of a full childhood, which is up to age 20 for the purposes of this analysis, the difference adds up to about $3,000, or 11 percent, more in average income as a young adult.
A county's income and racial segregation matters. The worse it is, the more it hinders one's ability to climb out of poverty. According to a report from the Martin Prosperity Institute released in February, San Antonio ranks as one the cities with the highest levels of economic segregation. The San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Area rounds out the top then cities where wealthy residents are most segregated. The SA metro area also gets that top ten distinction for cities where residents without high school diplomas are most segregated.
So if you are oblivious to Bexar County's critical problem when it comes to poverty and its related issues, it's not your fault. You probably haven't seen it first hand very much.
[h/t The New York Times]
