It’s hard to be poor in Dallas County. Granted, it’s hard to be poor, period, an endemic problem that was highlighted by the results of last week’s presidential election. But according to a study published by the New York Times, Dallas is “among the worst counties in the U.S. in helping poor children up the income ladder.” Growing up in Dallas decreases a child’s adult salary by $1,340. Johnson County, on the other hand, is one of the best places in the country to grow up. Kids that live there see an average increase in their adult salary of $4,680. That’s more than a $6,000 difference.
The researchers identified five main factors associated with effective upward mobility: less segregation by income and race, more income equality, better schools, less violent crime, and more two-parent households. All of which 2,006 counties in the country do better than we do. The moral of the study: if you are poor and want a better life for your kids, pack up and move to Cleburne as soon as possible. Or, more to the point, just get out of Dodge. I mean Dallas.
