I have a ‘pre-ban’ Mini-14. Before the AWB banned such things I was able to get an almost-identical copy of the Ruger folding stock. (The only difference I see is the hinge block on mine is beefier than the factory’s. See photo here, second from the right.) I like my Mini-14 with a 20-rd. magazine, but I haven’t decided which stock I like better. The folding stock is wicked. The fixed stock is classic. Maybe I need another one, so I could have both versions? 
I have not experienced any accuracy problems with my Mini-14. But then, I’m not a marksman; I’m a ‘plinker’. Still, it seems accurate enough to me. Perhaps not as accurate as the AR-15s or the AR-180, but I think it shoots well. I prefer the AR-15s because they just ‘feel’ better to shoot; but I agree with my friends that the Mini-14 is also very fun.
I never got round to shooting my Maadi AKM, which I sold back in the '80s. I did get a chance to shoot a new AK-47 (black plastic furniture, don’t know the maker). It belonged to some guy at the gun range, and I wasn’t shooting for accuracy but just to feel it. It felt pretty much like the Mini-14 to me.
DougC said Mini-14s tended not to be popular. I disagree. I remember reading in a survivalist magazine back in the '80s that it was ‘The Freedom Fighter’s Gun’. The author liked the accuracy, ease of use, that it uses .223 ammunition, and that it was fairly cheap compared to an AR-15. He also mentioned that since it is not a military rifle it was less likely to be banned. (Which, as we have seen, was the case.)
I haven’t checked prices on Mini-14s, since I already bought mine so many years ago. IIRC they were in the $300 range when I bought it. (I have kept all of my receipts over the years, but I don’t know where they are right now. They’re in a notebook in a box somewhere.) At the time there were only a couple brands of AKM/AK-47 available in the states, and they cost about the same. My Maadi was a lot better looking than the AKs I’ve seen in the last 10-15 years. It seems like the flood of AKs and the poorer quality (of many, not all of them) have kept prices reasonable, while the Mini-14 prices have risen with the times.
There’s not going to be a socio-economic breakdown. If there were to be one I’d carry an AR-15 because I suspect that there would be more parts and accessories available for it. (If the feces collides with the rotating oscillator I’m guessing that M-16s would be pretty much available.) But as I said, it ain’t gonna happen. So I’ll be happy shooting paper with what I have, and I’ll pick up an AK when I find one I really like.