Friending bias
How much less often low-income people make high-income friends than you would expect from how often they meet them. A high value means the chance to mix is there but is not taken.
Reported for3,014areas, in 51 states — none in PR
Link to density0.39not mostly about how urban a place is
Nearby places alike0.22Moran’s I: only weakly, little map pattern
Typerateshare
How it has moved
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Every state, every year
Nothing to draw here: this measure has no state figures. Its publisher reports it for counties. This site does not add county numbers up into state figures, since a home-made figure could clash with one an agency publishes itself. The chart above covers the whole country, year by year.
Where it comes from
Social Capital Atlas · Opportunity Insights bias_grp_mem_county
One minus (connectedness divided by exposure). It shows how much less likely lower-status people are to befriend higher-status people than you would expect from how many of them they meet. It is built from the same numbers as economic connectedness, so the two are bound to match to some degree. Time period: measured over Facebook users aged 25-44 in 2022, with noise added to protect privacy.
Combining areas: an average weighted by children with below-median parental income.
What it goes with
The strongest links that have a page of their own. Unadjusted is the link before adjusting for anything, from −1 (opposite) to +1 (in step). Adjusted compares places with the same population density, income and education levels, so those differences can’t explain the link. This list leaves out the 2 pairs built from the same numbers or the same model as this measure, since they are bound to match.
| Measure | Unadjusted | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Friending bias and Share White, not HispanicWhere Friending bias is higher, Share White, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share White, not Hispanic by US county | -0.42 | -0.39 |
| Friending bias and Average test scoreWhere Friending bias is higher, Average test score tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Average test score by US county | -0.26 | -0.36 |
| Friending bias and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Friending bias is higher, Share Hispanic or Latino, any race tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county | +0.32 | +0.36 |
| Friending bias and Share never marriedWhere Friending bias is higher, Share never married tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share never married by US county | +0.43 | +0.34 |
| Friending bias and Congregations per 10,000 peopleWhere Friending bias is higher, Congregations per 10,000 people tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Congregations per 10,000 people by US county | -0.43 | -0.33 |
| Friending bias and Republican share of the two-party vote, 2020Where Friending bias is higher, Republican share of the two-party vote, 2020 tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Republican share of the two-party vote, 2020 by US county | -0.42 | -0.33 |
| Friending bias and Republican swing, 2000 to 2024Where Friending bias is higher, Republican swing, 2000 to 2024 tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Republican swing, 2000 to 2024 by US county | -0.29 | -0.32 |
| Friending bias and Republican share of the two-party vote, 2024Where Friending bias is higher, Republican share of the two-party vote, 2024 tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Republican share of the two-party vote, 2024 by US county | -0.41 | -0.32 |
| Friending bias and Housing insecurityWhere Friending bias is higher, Housing insecurity tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Housing insecurity by US county | +0.28 | +0.32 |
| Friending bias and Share now marriedWhere Friending bias is higher, Share now married tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share now married by US county | -0.37 | -0.31 |
Population makeup
How this measure varies with the racial and ethnic makeup of counties. Every group is shown, whatever its rank. These are links across counties: they describe places, not people. They say nothing about any person’s risk or behaviour based on their race. Counties with a larger share of one group also differ in much else, such as income, segregation, region and history. The adjusted figure only accounts for density, income and education.
| Share of residents | Unadjusted | Adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Friending bias and Share White, not HispanicWhere Friending bias is higher, Share White, not Hispanic tends to be lower: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share White, not Hispanic by US county | -0.42 | -0.39 |
| Friending bias and Share Black, not HispanicWhere Friending bias is higher, Share Black, not Hispanic tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share Black, not Hispanic by US county | +0.18 | +0.11 |
| Friending bias and Share Hispanic or Latino, any raceWhere Friending bias is higher, Share Hispanic or Latino, any race tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared, and inside states as well. Share Hispanic or Latino, any race by US county | +0.32 | +0.36 |
| Friending bias and Share Asian, not HispanicCould easily be chance once only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share Asian, not Hispanic by US county | +0.08 | +0.01 |
| Friending bias and Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not HispanicWhere Friending bias is higher, Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic tends to be higher: a weak link that holds when only places with similar density, income and education are compared. Share American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic by US county | +0.04 | +0.18 |
Highest and lowest
Of 3,014 counties reporting it. These are the two ends of a national ranking. For most measures, that ranking mostly sorts places by income and how urban they are. That is why the place pages compare each place with similar places instead.
Highest
- Todd County, SD — 0.335
- Nantucket County, MA — 0.33
- DeSoto County, FL — 0.308
- Corson County, SD — 0.273
- Marin County, CA — 0.271
Lowest
- Clark County, KS — -0.108
- Glascock County, GA — -0.106
- Armstrong County, TX — -0.0962
- Oldham County, TX — -0.0928
- Skagway Municipality, AK — -0.0917
The middle area reports 0.064. The middle half of counties falls between 0.0309 and 0.0955 (the 25th to 75th percentile).
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