A few weeks ago, the New York Times published an article that highlighted new research findings suggesting that poor children who grow up in some cities and towns have sharply better odds of escaping poverty than similar poor children elsewhere.
The study entitled “The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility Childhood Exposure Effects and County-Level Estimates” by Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren at Harvard University offered the most detailed portrait yet of upward mobility, and suggest that where you live does not just separate rich from poor but also determines which poor children achieve the so-called American dream.
So how does Kent County stack up in this landmark study? While certainly not on the same dismal level as the City of Baltimore, Kent, along with Talbot, Caroline and particularly Dorchester County, all showed below average results. The only bright spot was in Queen Anne’s County.
As the map below indicates, if a child in a poor family were to grow up in Kent County, instead of a statistically average place, he or she would make $760 less money annually. Likewise, if that child grew up in Queen Anne’s County, they would earn close to $800 more than the average.
So, if you’re poor and live on the Mid-Shore, it’s better to be in Queen Anne’s County than in Kent, Talbot, Caroline, or Dorchester County. Not only that, the younger you are when you move to Queen Anne’s, 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 Queen Anne’s County adds about $40 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 $700, or 3 percent, more in average income as a young adult.
In summary, Kent County is below average in helping poor children up the income ladder. It ranks 530th out of 2,478 counties nationwide, better than about 21 percent of counties. It is relatively worse for poor boys than it is for poor girls.
Here are the estimates for how much 20 years of childhood in Kent County adds or takes away from a child’s income (compared with an average county), along with the national percentile ranking for each.
The report nonetheless does not answer the question of whether things like better schools and less economic segregation are the main co-factors. The study team, however, will be looking into that in the years ahead.
Carlos O. Jones says
The results showing that children living in Queen Anne’s County have a better chance of economic mobility is not surprising. The question one must ask is what does does QAC have, that the others don’t. Answer – the Bay Bridge; that physical access to the Western Shore, the commuter connection to the cash!
It is not rocket science people! Families earning a very good wage in the Baltimore-Washington technology corridor, found they could get more bang for their buck on the Eastern Shore than they could living closer to work. They work their and spend here. I’m sure that is a fuller analysis is done, it will show that the southern half of the county is the economic engine and the children of those families benefit from their parents affluence. Decades ago the residents of the lower end of Kent County (the Northerners couldn’t have cared less) fought the plan to build a second bridge connecting Rock Hall to Baltimore. Imagine how different life would be for Kent County if they hadn’t.
joe diamond says
Best quote = “Anyone want to see the eastern shore? ……….No,not OC, we make a left at the other end of the bridge……….we are going to Rock Hall!”
I met intelligent & well-educated graduates of Kent County schools. This was 1968. The unstated comment was that for any graduate of a local school the best routes out of the area were a military career or college if you were white., rich & smart.
Those who stayed had nothing to look at. Things are still slow.
susan reinsch says
Also seems to help if you are female, at any income level.
connie schroth, says
Children below the poverty line in Kent County have a huge resource in Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s, a 6-week summer learning program that has offered summer enrichment here since 1995. We teach children in classes limited to 12 from Pre-kindergarten to grade 8. Our goal to is reduce “summer slide”, a major factor re: the student achievement gap between poor and well-to-do students in America. In addition to 2 hours a day spent on academics (reading and math), our students receive 3 mornings of Red Cross swim lessons, enrichment opportunities such as field trips, visiting experts in various fields, classroom work at Washington College, sailing lessons, art, music, career exploration, school year activities, etc. Our high school students can take advantage of our year-long mentoring program. Often our students return as Interns or Teaching Assistants. Three students have become certified lifeguards as a result of Horizons. As of this summer, we now have a site in Centreville at the Gunston School for grades k-2. We are a private non-profit, receiving no income from state or federal sources. I believe that programs like ours offer low income children a “leg up” in regard to having a better future.