Making friends with people of different economic backgrounds is the best way for children to eventually surpass the earning potential of their parents, according to a new study.

The Wealth Management Group looked at the role of friendships and location to see where in Pennsylvania children have the best and worst chances at upward economic mobility.

It then assigned an economic connectedness score to each county.

Delaware County’s at the halfway point in the state compared to 49 other counties in offering upward economic mobility to its children, reports Stacker.

The study used data from Harvard University’s Social Capital Atlas project.

With Northumberland County coming in last at No. 50, with an economic connectedness score of .80, and Bucks County coming in at No. 1, with a score of 1.09, Delaware County fell right in the middle, at No. 25, with a score of .88.

Delaware County’s population of 573,883 has a median income of $80,398. It’s identified as 66.6 percent white, 21.8 percent Black, 6 percent Asian and .1 percent American Indian and Alaska Native.

The research looked at data representing 21 billion friendships from Facebook, as well as anonymous tax records. 

See how Delaware County economic mobility compares to other counties in the state at MSN.