We perform an analysis to infer the regional income mobility of a selection of developed and developing economies over a twenty-year period (1997-2017). We discuss whether the famous ‘American Dream’ or ‘Chinese Dream’ is still achievable under the assumption that the income mobility within an economy should accommodate a certain probability of income change. We found that both China and the USA have relative, significant economic growth and high mobility, whereas the rest of the world has become inconsistent in income mobility.