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Socioeconomic Status

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Commentary
The Inflation Pain You Don't See
Official statistics don't capture the pain of inflation for many Americans. That's because there's something wrong with how we define the middle class. Far more American households earn a middle-class income than enjoy a middle-class lifestyle.
Jan 18, 2023
Essay
What Would It Take to Close America's Black-White Wealth Gap?
White Americans hold ten times more total wealth than Black Americans, a disparity that has worsened in recent decades. RAND researchers modeled wealth across millions of households and tested several funding scenarios to see which could most effectively close the gap.
May 9, 2023

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Blog
Immigration Policy, the Black-White Wealth Gap, ChatGPT: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing U.S. immigration policy, what it would take to close America's Black-white wealth gap, risks and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence, more.
May 26, 2023
Journal Article
History of Incarceration Is Associated with Unmet Socioeconomic Needs and Structural Discrimination Among Young Black Sexual Minority Men (SMM) in the United States
This study aimed to assess the prevalence and association between unmet socioeconomic and structural needs and history of incarceration among young Black sexual minority men.
May 24, 2023
Report
An Initial Methodology for Evaluating Social Equity Performance in Disaster Mitigation Grants: The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program
The authors explore how the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program addresses the greatest natural hazard risks for mitigation (predisaster actions to reduce damage and ease recovery) while also integrating social equity factors.
Mar 22, 2023
Journal Article
A Consumption-Based Definition of the Middle Class
In this paper, we develop a consumption-based measure of the middle class that closely follows economic theory of constrained optimization.
Jan 11, 2023
Journal Article
Examining the Cross-sectional Association Between Neighborhood Conditions, Discrimination, and Telomere Length in a Predominantly African American Sample
Disproportionate exposure to adverse neighborhood conditions and greater discrimination may contribute to health disparities among African Americans.
Jan 10, 2023
Blog
A Potential Russian Attack on NATO, China in the Arctic, Inflation: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how the West might respond in the case of a limited Russian attack on NATO, what China's Arctic ambitions mean to the United States, how inflation affects middle-class households, and more.
Jan 6, 2023
Commentary
To Help African Americans Gain Generational Wealth, Look to the Housing Market
African American families have significantly less wealth than White families, even after reaching the middle class. Home ownership is, for the vast majority of Americans, the primary vehicle for accruing wealth, and passing it down through generations. This is a crucial time for policymakers to consider policies that focus on improving home ownership rates for African Americans.
Dec 7, 2022
Report
Accounting for Black-White Wealth Differences
Wealth accumulation is not solely determined by a person's choices and ability. Many factors affect individual wealth, including parental income, credit, and systemic discrimination. These factors have a cumulative effect and can lead to persistent disparities over generations.
Dec 7, 2022
Report
Examining the Loss of Wealth and Downward Mobility of African Americans
Black children who grow up in middle-class households are less likely than white children who grow up in middle-class households to replicate their parents' socioeconomic status. What key factors contribute to this disparity?
Dec 7, 2022
Report
Americans' Spending Declines Consistently After Age 65
Americans' personal spending drops consistently after age 65, both among the affluent and those with lower levels of financial resources. The findings contradict traditional wisdom that spending will be constant or even increase during older age, and suggests that individuals and couples could spend more early in retirement.
Dec 5, 2022
News Release
Black Veterans Generally Have a Better Quality of Life Than Black Non-Veterans, but Still Struggle Compared to White ...
Military service is associated with more-positive life outcomes and better economic prospects for Black Americans, despite facing greater health risks than their civilian counterparts.
Nov 9, 2022
Report
Black Veterans Generally Have a Better Quality of Life Than Black Non-Veterans
Black veterans tend to have higher incomes and higher rates of home ownership than Black Americans who are not veterans. But the economic picture is less positive when compared with White Americans. Also, Black veterans experience more health concerns than Black or White civilians.
Nov 9, 2022
Report
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Mitigation Grant Program
Natural disasters have become more frequent and destructive, with the damage from disasters affecting some communities—most notably, low-income and disadvantaged communities—more than others. Hazard risk mitigation could reduce disruption and damage, and equity issues are important in helping communities' mitigation efforts.
Mar 23, 2022
Report
Poor indoor climate: Its impact on health and life satisfaction, as well as its wider socio-economic costs
This study looks at the prevalence of poor indoor climate in Europe, its impact on health and well-being, as well as its wider socio-economic costs.
Mar 22, 2022
Multimedia
Climate Change: An Issue of Equity
RAND senior policy researcher Benjamin Preston describes areas where climate change and equity intersect.
Aug 26, 2021
Commentary
Most Americans Consider Themselves Middle-Class. But Are They?
There are different ways of determining who should be considered middle-class. But there is one thing they have in common: All reveal that the middle class in the United States is shrinking.
May 14, 2021
Commentary
Biden's Child Tax Credit Will Bring Lifetime of Improvement
The American Rescue Plan is expected to cut child poverty in the United States by more than 40 percent. The benefits are important to families today and could be compounded over the hundred years these children are expected to live.
Apr 28, 2021
Journal Article
Associations Between Individual Demographic Characteristics And Involuntary Health Care Delays As A Result Of COVID-19
We provide the first evidence on associations between individual characteristics and the propensity to experience an involuntary care disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apr 27, 2021

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Alexandra Mendoza-Graf

Associate Policy Researcher

Alexandra Mendoza-Graf (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at RAND. Her research interests include the social determinants of health spanning the areas of education, built environments, neighborhood change and gentrification, displacement, criminal justice, mental health and well-being,…
Jessica Welburn Paige

Behavioral/Social Scientist

Jessica Welburn Paige is a social scientist at the RAND Corporation whose research interests include race and ethnicity, social mobility, culture and qualitative methods. Her research has explored how African Americans navigate racism and discrimination and how they think about social mobility…

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