Leveraging Mobility in Boston
Economic Well-Being and the Flow of Wealth Across Three Generations of Low- and Middle-Income Families
Drawing on a rare qualitative longitudinal study from the late 1990s to 2025, this report traces how wealth, opportunity, and financial security evolve within families and across the generations.
Leveraging Mobility in Boston draws on a rare qualitative longitudinal study that follows 15 Boston families at multiple points from the late 1990s through 2025. Written by researchers at Brandeis University’s Institute on Economic and Racial Equity, it traces how wealth, opportunity, and financial security evolve within families and across the generations. The report also examines how these trajectories diverge by race, class, and occupation. Across families, several themes emerge, including the important role of homeownership, the stabilizing effect of defined-benefit pensions, and the ways that intergenerational support can either reinforce advantage or help buffer against economic shocks.
