Types of Economic Mobility: Intergenerational vs. Intragenerational Explained
Economic mobility refers to how an individual’s or family’s economic status can change over time (see this post for an introduction to economic mobility). According to the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, achieving upward economic mobility requires more than just economic success; it also demands access to power and autonomy, and being valued within one’s community.
The promise of upward mobility has long been central to the American Dream. Yet today, as the United States faces declining economic mobility across generations and rising inequality, it is increasingly clear that a dream will not be enough to improve economic outcomes. Instead, change will require coordinated efforts from community-based organizations, local government, economic leaders, and other key stakeholders to develop policies and strategies that lead to economic growth and economic mobility.
In this article, we take a closer look at two critical dimensions of this concept: intergenerational and intragenerational economic mobility. Understanding these two forms of economic mobility is essential for advancing economic opportunity for both current and future generations. In this post, we’ll break down what each type of mobility entails, explore specific strategies and case studies tied to each, and examine why they matter.
Intergenerational and Intragenerational Economic Mobility
Leveraging intergenerational and intragenerational economic mobility strategies is essential for achieving long-term, sustainable economic outcomes in communities across the United States.
Intergenerational economic mobility describes how children and families' economic status can change across generations. This growth is not restricted to one individual’s lifetime, but can be seen across a family’s history, such as between children and their parents. There are several strategies that people and leaders can implement to encourage intergenerational upward economic mobility.
Conversely, intragenerational economic mobility describes how individuals' economic status can change or improve during their prime working years (25 to 64 years old) and within their lifetimes. This improvement often results from addressing immediate barriers to financial stability and career advancement.
Source: Pexels
Building Intergenerational Economic Mobility: LISC Jacksonville, Heirs’ Property Program
Known for the St. Johns River and its expansive beaches and coastline, Jacksonville, Florida, is also home to LISC Jacksonville, a community development organization. LISC Jacksonville is dedicated to transforming neighborhoods into healthy, sustainable communities of choice and opportunity.
LISC Jacksonville is a member of New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN) Advancing Economic Mobility (AEM) initiative. AEM supports economic mobility efforts in disinvested communities across the country, especially through support to community-based organizations (CBOs) that work alongside those most impacted.
LISC Jacksonville received grant funding to support its economic mobility strategy, along with technical assistance to strengthen partnerships with local government and advance community-driven solutions.
LISC Jacksonville’s economic mobility strategy is strengthening intergenerational economic mobility by addressing and preventing heirs' property issues. In Jacksonville, majority-Black neighborhoods are experiencing rapid displacement, in part due to a little-known legal challenge known as “heirs' property” or “tangled titles.” When a homeowner passes away without formal estate planning, such as a will or court-documented heirship, the property is inherited informally by family members, creating fragmented and unclear ownership. Without a clear title, families are unable to access critical resources like home equity loans, tax rebates, or disaster recovery assistance, making it much harder to maintain a property's condition and value. Over time, this can lead to home devaluation, loss of wealth, and eventual displacement.
Through its Heirs' Property Program, LISC Jacksonville works to identify properties at risk, engage and educate residents, connect families with legal support, and provide ongoing services like home repairs.
As one LISC Jacksonville team member put it, "[Advancing economic mobility] is about creating opportunities for people to have greater options for their future." LISC Jacksonville is making that vision a reality. By helping families secure clear ownership of their homes and preserve their assets, they are building generational wealth and creating lasting impact in some of Jacksonville’s most historically under-resourced communities.
Read more about LISC Jacksonville’s economic mobility strategy via the Results for America catalog.
Source: Mini City
Building Intragenerational Economic Mobility: Mini-City Documents Readiness Program
Mini City, an Atlanta-based agency, has a simple mission: to eradicate homelessness, not just in Metro Atlanta but across the nation. This organization was also a member of the NGIN AEM initiative for its innovative work to improve intragenerational economic mobility.
Their work draws from the permanent supportive housing strategy from Results for America. Programs under this area of work seek to address chronic homelessness and connect people experiencing homelessness with both safe shelter and additional support services, such as mental health or substance abuse disorder treatment.
Through its innovative smart technology solutions, Mini City helps individuals experiencing homelessness obtain critical documents and vital records — such as state IDs, birth certificates, and Social Security cards — that are essential for accessing housing, healthcare, and long-term employment opportunities. Without these documents, individuals face major barriers to stability and upward mobility, making it nearly impossible to secure housing, apply for jobs, enroll in educational programs, or access vital social services. By streamlining and simplifying the documentation process, Mini City not only removes a critical barrier to immediate needs like shelter and healthcare, but also lays the groundwork for individuals to achieve greater economic mobility within their lifetimes.
Learn more about Mini City here.
Why This Matters
Understanding intergenerational and intragenerational economic mobility is essential for anyone working to create lasting change in communities. These two forms of mobility highlight different pathways for improving economic outcomes—both within an individual's lifetime and across generations. They emphasize the importance of not only helping individuals raise their financial standing and ability to thrive, but also ensuring that economic gains are sustained and transferred across generations, building a foundation of lasting opportunity for families over time.
By recognizing the unique opportunities each form presents, community-based organizations and local economic leaders can design targeted strategies that respond to their community’s specific needs and contexts. Whether developing short-term interventions to boost immediate economic opportunities or investing in long-term initiatives that build generational wealth and stability, a deeper understanding of economic mobility equips leaders to create more effective, sustainable solutions. Ultimately, advancing both intergenerational and intragenerational mobility is key to building stronger, more equitable communities where everyone has a fair chance to thrive.
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Since 2023, NGIN’s Advancing Economic Mobility program has partnered with 22 community-based organizations and local governments in 13 states, to implement 16 unique economic mobility strategies, thanks to funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We leveraged data, tools, and knowledge resources to aid local leaders in improving economic opportunities for low and middle-income workers and residents. As part of our approach, we leveraged strategies from the Results4America Economic Mobility catalog, a comprehensive resource that helps local leaders identify and implement evidence-based strategies to improve upward economic mobility for their residents.
Learn more about the Advancing Economic Mobility program here.
