DATA DESCRIPTION, FILE: atlas.dta

The data consist of n = 73,278 U.S. Census tracts. For more details on the construction of the variables included in this data set, please see Chetty, Raj, John Friedman, Nathaniel Hendren, Maggie R. Jones, and Sonya R. Porter. 2018. “The Opportunity Atlas: Mapping the Childhood Roots of Social Mobility.” NBER Working Paper No. 25147.

Table 1

Definitions of Variables in atlas.dta

Variable name Label Obs.
(1) (2) (3)
*1. Geographic identifiers*   
tract Tract FIPS Code (6-digit) 2010 73,278
county County FIPS Code (3-digit) 73,278
state State FIPS Code (2-digit) 73,278
cz Commuting Zone Identifier (1990 Definition) 72,473
*2. Characteristics of Census tracts*   
hhinc_mean2000 Mean Household Income 2000 72,302
mean_commutetime2000 Average Commute Time of Working Adults in 2000 72,313
frac_coll_plus2010 Fraction of Residents with a College Degree or More in 2010 72,993
frac_coll_plus2000 Fraction of Residents with a College Degree or More in 2000 72,343
foreign_share2010 Share of Population Born Outside the U.S. 72,279
med_hhinc2016 Median Household Income in 2016 72,763
med_hhinc1990 Median Household Income in 1999 72,313
popdensity2000 Population Density (per square mile) in 2000 72,469
poor_share2010 Poverty Rate 2010 72,933
poor_share2000 Poverty Rate 2000 72,315
poor_share1990 Poverty Rate 1990 72,323
share_black2010 Share black 2010 73,111
share_hisp2010 Share Hispanic 2010 73,111
share_asian2010 Share Asian 2010 71,945
share_black2000 Share black 2000 72,368
share_white2000 Share white 2000 72,368
share_hisp2000 Share Hispanic 2000 72,368
share_asian2000 Share Asian 2000 71,050
gsmn_math_g3_2013 Average School District Level Standardized Test Scores in 3rd Grade in 2013 72,090
rent_twobed2015 Average Rent for Two-Bedroom Apartment in 2015 56,607
singleparent_share2010 Share of Single-Headed Households with Children 2010 72,564
singleparent_share1990 Share of Single-Headed Households with Children 1990 72,196
singleparent_share2000 Share of Single-Headed Households with Children 2000 72,285
traveltime15_2010 Share of Working Adults w/ Commute Time of 15 Minutes Or Less in 2010 72,939
emp2000 Employment Rate 2000 72,344
mail_return_rate2010 Census Form Rate Return Rate 2010 72,547
ln_wage_growth_hs_grad Log wage growth for HS Grad., 2005-2014 51,635
jobs_total_5mi_2015 Number of Primary Jobs within 5 Miles in 2015 72,311
jobs_highpay_5mi_2015 Number of High-Paying (>USD40,000 annually) Jobs within 5 Miles in 2015 72,311
nonwhite_share2010 Share of People who are not white 2010 73,111
popdensity2010 Population Density (per square mile) in 2010 73,194
ann_avg_job_growth_2004_2013 Average Annual Job Growth Rate 2004-2013 70,664
job_density_2013 Job Density (in square miles) in 2013 72,463
*3. Measures of Upward Mobility from the Opportunity Atlas*   
kfr_pooled_p25 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution 72,011
kfr_pooled_p75 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for children with parents at the 75th percentile of the national income distribution 72,012
kfr_pooled_p100 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for children with parents at the 100th percentile of the national income distribution 71,968
kfr_natam_p25 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Native American children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution 1,733
kfr_natam_p75 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Native American children with parents at the 75th percentile of the national income distribution 1,728
kfr_natam_p100 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Native American children with parents at the 100th percentile of the national income distribution 1,594
kfr_asian_p25 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Asian children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution 15,434
kfr_asian_p75 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Asian children with parents at the 75th percentile of the national income distribution 15,360
kfr_asian_p100 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Asian children with parents at the 100th percentile of the national income distribution 13,480
kfr_black_p25 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Black children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution 34,086
kfr_black_p75 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Black children with parents at the 75th percentile of the national income distribution 34,049
kfr_black_p100 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Black children with parents at the 100th percentile of the national income distribution 32,536
kfr_hisp_p25 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Hispanic children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution 37,611
kfr_hisp_p75 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Hispanic children with parents at the 75th percentile of the national income distribution 37,579
kfr_hisp_p100 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for Hispanic children with parents at the 100th percentile of the national income distribution 35,987
kfr_white_p25 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for White children with parents at the 25th percentile of the national income distribution 67,978
kfr_white_p75 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for White children with parents at the 75th percentile of the national income distribution 67,968
kfr_white_p100 Household income ($) at age 31-37 for White children with parents at the 100th percentile of the national income distribution 67,627
*3. Counts of number of children under 18 in 2000 (to calculate weighted summary statistics)*   
count_pooled Count of all children 72,451
count_white Count of White children 72,451
count_black Count of Black children 72,451
count_asian Count of Asian children 72,451
count_hisp Count of Hispanic children 72,451
count_natam Count of Native American children 72,451

Note: This table describes the variables included in the atlas.dta file.