Sociology Undergraduate Association at UCLA
  • Home
  • About
  • Gallery
  • Blog
  • Join

The Sociological Imagination: what your income says about you

1/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture

BY: TIFFANY NEMAN | JANUARY 5, 2014

What, exactly, does your income say about you?

According to Income Upshot, a data interactive tool by Marketplace's Wealth and Poverty Desk, your income can help analysts predict the likelihood of you owning a gun, how many hours you spend a day watching television, your political ideology... even your preference for alcoholic beverages, among other factors. By simply entering in a household income level and zip code, you can explore an assortment of variables correlated with one's salary. The site uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources to compile this fun, user-friendly interface.

To illustrate, I chose to explore two different household incomes ($30,000 and $200,000) in 90024, the zip code in which UCLA essentially resides (the median household income of which, I might add, is $67,151). As Income Upshot indicates, the difference in those incomes translates to strong differences in marital status, with almost 80% of those earning a yearly $200,000 nationwide married, compared with only 56.8% of those earning $30,000 a year.

$30,000                                            

   $200,000

Picture
The interface also provides a condensed version of the data for each variable in a series of articles entitled "Behind the Data." For example, if you want to compare income bracket with political ideology, you can view the entire graph at once, as seen below. Do you notice any interesting trends?
Picture
There are all sorts of trends and patterns worth exploring with Income Upshot. At a time when income inequality is a pressing issue both domestically and globally, understanding the role that money plays in influencing not just our consumer behavior, but our lifestyle, has never been more important.

Want to share your thoughts on an interesting sociological topic? The Sociological Imagination is always on the lookout for guest contributors. We would love to hear your thoughts on a wide range of issues, from contemporary events and campus life to other musings. Simply submit your blog post to bruin.sua@gmail.com with your name, major, and year, and you might just be our next guest contributor!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    SUA

    We're sociology nerds. Have something to contribute? Post in the comments or email us! bruin.sua@gmail.com

    Archives

    May 2015
    April 2015
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Academia
    Alternative Cultures
    Ariel Hsieh
    Bechdel Test
    Celibacy Syndrome
    Crime
    Criminal Justice
    Degrees Of Separation
    Donkey Sex
    Education
    Event
    Facebook
    Feminism
    Game Theory
    Gender
    Government
    Hollywood
    Income Upshot
    Iron Law Of Oligarchy
    James Coleman
    James Wang
    Jeopardy
    Labeling Theory
    Leisure Culture
    Miley Cyrus
    Nepal
    North Korea
    PEW Internet Project
    Racism
    Reddit
    Restorative Justice
    Robert Michele
    Sir Ken Robinson
    Small World Phenomenon
    Social Activism
    Social Networks
    Socioeconomic Status
    Stanley Milgram
    Stephanie Jl Tan
    Sujin Oh
    Superheroes
    TED Talks
    Ties
    Tiffany Neman
    Travel
    Twitter
    VICE
    Walt Hickey
    White Privilege
    Work Culture
    Zombie Apocalypse

    RSS Feed

Powered by
✕