Ever feel like you’re living in a different country than the person in the next town over? Not just a different political party, but a different reality? You probably are.
Back in 2012, Charles Murray dropped a book called Coming Apart. It wasn't just another dry sociology text; it was a bombshell that basically told the American elite they were living in a hermetically sealed container. To prove it, he included a "bubble quiz." Formally titled "How Thick is Your Bubble?", this 25-question diagnostic has resurfaced every few years since, especially during election cycles when everyone is scratching their heads about why the country feels so fractured.
The bubble quiz charles murray created isn't about how much money you have in the bank today. Honestly, that’s the part most people trip over. It’s about "cultural fluency." It’s about whether you know what a factory floor smells like, what brands of beer the "average" American actually drinks, or if you can identify a NASCAR driver as easily as an NPR host.
What the Bubble Quiz Actually Measures
Most quizzes try to put you in a box. This one tries to see if you even know the box exists. Murray’s core argument is that a "New Upper Class" has emerged. These aren't just rich people; they’re people with high IQs who go to the same elite colleges, marry each other, and move into the same "Super ZIPs."
Because they only talk to people like themselves, they lose the ability to speak the language of the other 80% of the country. They might be well-meaning, but they’re culturally isolated.
The quiz uses 25 questions to gauge your exposure to "Mainstream American Culture." Some of the questions feel a bit dated now—like asking if you’ve seen a movie in a theater in the last year—but the logic holds up. It asks:
- Have you ever lived for at least a year in a neighborhood where most of your neighbors didn't have college degrees?
- Do you have a close friend who is an evangelical Christian?
- Have you ever held a job that caused part of your body to ache at the end of the day?
- Can you name the "winningest" coach in college football history? (Or at least know who Jimmie Johnson is?)
If you score low, your bubble is "thick." You’re insulated. If you score high, you have a "thin" bubble. You’ve been around the block.
The Counter-Intuitive Scoring System
Here’s where it gets weird. You could be a billionaire today and still have a thin bubble. Why? Because the quiz gives massive weight to your upbringing.
If you grew up in a working-class town in Ohio and now run a hedge fund in Manhattan, your score will still be relatively high. You "speak" blue-collar because you lived it. On the flip side, a struggling grad student at Yale who grew up in a wealthy suburb of D.C. might have a rock-bottom score. They might be "poor" in terms of current cash flow, but their cultural bubble is thick as lead.
Murray suggests that the typical "Old-Fashioned" American score is roughly 77. The "New Upper Class" average? It hovers way down in the 20s or 30s.
Why People Get Mad at This Quiz
It’s not all sunshine and social science. Critics have been hammering the bubble quiz charles murray designed since the day it was published.
One big complaint: it defines "mainstream America" as essentially white, rural, or suburban. If you live in a dense, working-class immigrant neighborhood in Queens, you might have a "thick bubble" according to Murray, even if you’re surrounded by "ordinary" people every day. The quiz doesn't ask if you know how to navigate a bodega or if you’ve ever worked in a kitchen; it asks if you’ve been to a Branson, Missouri, show or if you've ever bought a pickup truck.
There’s also the "intellectual" problem. Some argue the quiz is just a way to romanticize a 1950s version of America that doesn't exist anymore. It treats eating at Applebee’s as a badge of authenticity rather than just a consumer choice.
But Murray’s point isn't that Applebee's is "better" than a farm-to-table bistro. His point is that if you've never stepped foot in an Applebee’s, you’re missing a huge chunk of the American experience. You’re making decisions for a country you don't actually see.
How to Interpret Your Score
If you decide to take the quiz (it’s still available through various archives and the PBS NewsHour site), don't take the number as a moral judgment. A low score doesn't make you a "bad" person. It just makes you a "specialized" person.
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- Score 0-20: You’re in the elite of the elite. You probably live in a Super ZIP like Palo Alto or Bethesda. Your life is almost entirely scrubbed of contact with the working class.
- Score 21-40: Typical for a first-generation "intellectual" or someone who grew up in a comfortable middle-class suburb but moved to the city for a professional career.
- Score 41-60: You’ve got some "street cred" in the real world. Maybe you spent some time in the military or grew up in a town with a local mill.
- Score 61-100: You are the "Mainstream." You likely live a life that looks like the lives of the majority of your fellow citizens.
Moving Beyond the Bubble
The real value of the bubble quiz charles murray gave us isn't the final number. It’s the realization of where your blind spots are. If you realized you’ve never had a close friend who didn't go to college, that’s a data point. If you’ve never been to a county fair or a megachurch, you’re looking at a huge portion of the population through a telescope rather than a window.
Bridging that gap isn't about "acting" working class. That’s just cringe-worthy. It’s about listening. It’s about realizing that the "other side" isn't a collection of stereotypes, but people with their own complex culture, values, and valid reasons for living the way they do.
Practical Steps to Thin Your Bubble
If you’re worried about being out of touch, you don't need to go out and buy a 4x4 tomorrow. Just start by diversifying your "inputs."
- Change Your Travel: Next time you take a road trip, stay in a town that isn't a tourist destination. Eat at the local diner where people are wearing work boots, not Patagonia vests.
- Diversify Your Reading: Read local newspapers from different states. Not just the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, but the Des Moines Register or the Elko Daily Free Press.
- Listen Without Judging: When you encounter someone with a radically different lifestyle—whether it’s a hunter, a NASCAR fan, or someone who’s never left their small town—ask them what they value. Don't try to "correct" them. Just listen.
Understanding the "other" America isn't just about being a better citizen; it's about having a more accurate map of the world. And in a country as divided as ours, a good map is the only thing that might actually help us find our way back to each other.
Next Steps:
Go find a version of the 25-question quiz online (the 2016 PBS version is the most common). Take it without looking up the answers. Be honest. When you're done, pick one question you got "wrong" and spend an hour researching why that specific thing matters to millions of your fellow citizens.