It's good to be an older, suburban Republican

If you are older, Republican and living in the suburbs on the East coast, congratulations! Chances are higher you made it through the Great Recession relatively unscathed.

That's according to new data from the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project.

The report, "One Recession, Two Americas," found that overall about 55 percent of the country has lost ground as a result of the recession, because they experienced a job or income loss, foreclosure or other household financial crisis.

The other 45 percent were classified as having held their own as a result of the recession, because they largely did not experience major problems such as a job loss or difficulties paying the rent or mortgage.

Although the groups were divided almost equally, the demographic makeup of each side was quite different.

The researchers found that about 70 percent of people 65 and older held their own as a result of the recession. Almost exactly the same percentage of people ages 18 to 29 – 69 percent - lost ground because of the recession.

People who lived in the East Coast also were more likely to have held their own than those living in other parts of the country. In addition, rural and suburban dwellers were more likely to have held their own than people who live in big cities.

Also, although 49 percent of Republicans said they had lost ground as a result of the recession, a greater percentage of Democrats and Independent - 57 percent - said they had lost ground.

In addition, about half of the white people surveyed said they had lost ground during the recession, compared with about two-thirds of black people and 70 percent of Hispanics.

The one thing the recession has not divided us along? Gender lines. The researchers found 55 percent of both men and women said they lost ground because of the recession.

The data was based on interviews with nearly 3,000 people conducated in May of this year.