Social Stratification in the United States

Songhua Hu Department of Sociology

Stanford Universitysonghua@stanford.edu

America the Beautiful

What is America?

• Land of Opportunity– Anyone in America can become president, rich,

famous– Jobs and education are open to everyone equally

• Social Class is achieved– Individuals decide what class to belong to.

• Horatio Alger: rags to riches– People of low class worked hard and rose to positions

of wealth and power

What determines Social Class?

• Wealth– Valued possessions—cash, land, buildings, property

that they have– Income—money we receive each year

• Power– How many people you give orders to or take orders

from.

• Prestige– Respect given to people with valued positions or

resources for class.

• Occupational Prestige– Ratings by Americans about the prestige of different

occupations

Physician 82Lawyer 76School Teacher 60Computer Programmer 51Secretary 46Baker 34Taxi Driver 22Shoe Shiner 9ALC Professor ?Sociology Professor ?

5 American Social Class

• Upper Class– Percentage of Americans

.5%– Wealth:

• A lot• Ownership: They owns 50% stocks, 60% bonds;

corporations, property, inheritances• Income: High income—mostly from investments

– Top 1% has 22 times the average wealth of the other 99%

– Power: From Ownership, lots of power– Prestige: May not have jobs; prestige from family

name, resources

• Corporate Class– Percentage of Americans

.5%– Wealth:

• A lot, but not as much as upper class• Ownership—no major ownership of companies• Income—median CEO salary $10.83 million

– President of the U.S., $200,000

– Power: Heads of companies, government– Prestige: high

• Middle Class– Percentage of Americans

43%– Wealth:

• Some• Ownership—little property• Income—mid to high income

– Engineer, $58,000– Teacher, $34,000– ALC Professor, ??

– Power: Some– Prestige: White collar jobs

• Working Class– Percentage of Americans

43%– Wealth:

• Little• Ownership—little or no property• Income—mid to low

– Factory worker, $24,000– Machine operator, $23,000

– Power: Little– Prestige: Blue collar jobs

• Lower Class– Percentage of Americans

13%– Wealth:

• Very little or none• Ownership: none• Income: low

– Poverty rate in 2001: 9.9%– Only about 1/3 of poor get welfare

– Power: Low– Prestige: Low

Distribution of Wealth

Wealth Class 1998 Net Worth

Top 1% 38.1% $10,204,000

Next 4% 21.3% $1,441,000

Next 5% 11.5% $623,500

Next 10% 12.5% $344,900

Next 20% 11.9% $161,300

Middle 20% 4.5% $61,000

Bottom 40% 0.2% $1,900

American’s Attitude towards Social Stratification

• Mixed Optimism

Importance of Education

Better off over Generations

Trap of Poverty?

American Dream for Everyone?

American Dream for Everyone?

Race, Gender and Social Class

Unemployment

Race Unemployment, 2000

Hispanic or Latino 9.3%

White 4.3%

Black 11.8%

American Indian 12.4%

Asian 5.1%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

10.9%

• More men work full time than women, but comparing men and women who work:

Median IncomeMale $29,458

Female $18,957

– For every dollar men make, women make 64 cents

Explanations for these differences

• Education?– Women make up over 50% of students in

college

Men and Women with a BA (1999) Male $47,126

Female $34,455

Poverty rates and Gender

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

In families Inmarried-couplefamilies

Femaleheadedfamilies

Maleheadedfamilies

Total

What is America?

• Land of Opportunity– Can anyone become rich?– Are all jobs open and equal for everyone?

• Social Class is achieved– Do Americans decide which class they belong

to?

• Horatio Alger: rags to riches– Work hard and you will achieve?

America the Beautiful?

Or is it more complicated?

Tale of Two Cities