This study by Harvard and U.C. Berkeley used millions of autonomous earning records to come up with these results showing economic opportunity by region and city. The results are shown on this remarkable MAP.
What things determine the places with the best and worst opportunities for upward mobility include things like
Minuses:
(1) Spotty Public Transportation.
(2) Struggling School Systems
(3) Geographic separation between economic classes
Pluses:
(1) Mixed Income Neighborhoods
(2) Good Schools
(2) Two Parent Households
Cities with less opportunity
Atlanta
Cincinnati
Indianapolis
Charlotte
Memphis
Columbus
Cities with more opportunity
Salt Lake City
San Jose
Seattle
Boston
New York
Much of California
As you can see from the MAP the Southeast, Deep South, Rust Belt, and western Indian Reservations are the places with the least opportunities for upward mobility.