A study released in March by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco reports that nearly half, 44%, of American adults who are in the bottom 20% in income were born to parents who were also in the bottom 20%; nearly half, 45%, of adults in the top 20% had parents who were also in the top 20%. Most Americans who were born in the middle 60% had parents who were also born in the middle 60%.

The cup of inter-generational mobility in the U.S. is thus about half full, and about half empty.

If you were born in the bottom 20%, your chances of ending up in the top 20% are about one in 20: 5%.

If you were born in the top 20%, your chances of ending up in the bottom 20% are about one in 20: 5%.

It’s not entirely a hereditary aristocracy and hereditary serfs; but the circumstances, genes, and connections that a person is born with do have a marked impact in this country.

Here’s the chart, from this study: