Of course, there’s more to the data than meets the eye, said Von Bakanic associate professor of sociology at the College of Charleston.

In terms of social mobility, it’s much easier to go up one or two steps than to make a move from the bottom to the very top of the economic ladder, she said. And if you live someplace where the median income is very low, it doesn’t take much to move up.

“It’s a different scale from the bottom to the top in the Dakotas than it is in New York or California,” she said.

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20130804/PC1610/130809776