Socioeconomic status, sometimes shortened to SES, is a sociological classification indicating the close relationship between someone’s relative wealth and that person’s social status. Socioeconomic status is one of the key indicators when looking at a number of different community issues, including school performance, crime and housing. It is most often determined by analyzing family income and assets.

Social status, in this case, means more than just who the person or members of the family may associate with, though that is also included. It also means the aggregate value of their education, job status and living environment. Together, all these things can play a crucial role in one’s life.

Closely related to income, and helping to determine socioeconomic status of a family is the parental education level. As higher education, generally, tends to lead to better economic opportunities, those who find themselves at a lower socioeconomic status usually have a lower level of education and thus a lower-paying occupation. However, there are exceptions to this rule at both ends of the spectrum.

Most of those in various divisions of socioeconomic status tend to cluster together. In fact, socioeconomic status may be even a bigger divider, or at least as big of a divider, as race used to be. Whether by design or by natural inclination, many cities are divided into sections where most of the inhabitants share the same socioeconomic status.

This can be both a benefit and a liability to a community. For example, those in a higher status may enjoy less crime, allowing law enforcement resources to be focused elsewhere. However, in those areas where the socioeconomic status is lower, schools tend to fail or, at the very least underperform. In many cases, this may not be the fault of the school’s staff, leading some schools to be unfairly penalized.

Considering socioeconomic status as a way to analyze a community and its risk factors is criticized by some. It is argued that doing so leads to stereotyping and profiling. Those critical of the practice argue that even within the different strata there are individuals who do not fit the trends.

However, those who do favor using socioeconomic status indicators in such a way say that the practice saves money. It puts resources where they need to be in order to help the people who most need it. Without such analysis and action, money may be wasted that would otherwise be put to good use, they argue.