Final answer:
The strongest evidence to support the claim of U.S. social stratification can be found by examining wealth distribution, as wealth affects one's living standards, power, and opportunities more profoundly than income, education, or occupational prestige.
Step-by-step explanation:
If one were looking for data supporting the claim that U.S. society is very stratified, the strongest case could be made by pointing to wealth as a factor. Wealth, being the net value of money and assets a person has, directly affects a person's standard of living, level of power, and opportunities within the society. Although factors such as income, education, and occupational prestige are also indicators of social stratification and reflect one's socioeconomic status, wealth accumulation tends to have a lasting impact and often defines the structural foundation of stratification more than the other factors.
For instance, occupational prestige illustrates how certain jobs are not equally valued (occupational prestige means that jobs are not equally valued), which affects one's social standing and respect within society. However, it is wealth that more profoundly establishes the divisions between social classes, impacting access to resources, power dynamics, and the ability to influence social structures.