51% of U.S. adults say the American Dream is out of reach for most people right now: CNBC survey
In an exclusive CNBC survey, 81% of respondents said the cost of living is their biggest financial hurdle to achieving the American Dream.
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Just over half of Americans say the American Dream is out of reach for most people right now, according to a new CNBC and SurveyMonkey American Dream Pulse Survey.
Roughly 45% of respondents said the American Dream is only achievable for some people, and 6% said it's not in reach for anyone, according to a study of 4,130 U.S. adults, conducted May 6 to 11.
The term "American Dream" was popularized in the 1930s by historian James Truslow Adams, who called it a "dream of a better, richer and happier life for all our citizens of every rank." Optimism about it has generally declined over the last several decades, says Elizabeth Suhay, professor of government at American University and author of "Debating the American Dream: How Explanations for Inequality Polarize Politics."
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Americans today are "less likely to believe the American economy is meritocratic, that it is fair, that it delivers economic success to a typical hardworking person, [and] that lower-income people can work their way up" than people in previous decades, Suhay says.
Roughly four in five survey respondents identified cost of living as one of their biggest financial hurdles to achieving the American Dream. Three in five cited housing prices, almost half pointed to healthcare costs and nearly as many blamed low wages.
While inflation has cooled from 2022 highs, it has exceeded the Federal Reserve's 2% target since 2021, and prices of gas, food, and energy remain elevated for consumers. Seventy percent of Americans reported the cost of living in their area was not very or not at all affordable, according to a Marist poll of 1,400 adults in December.
"The American dream depends on what you earn, and also how much things cost," says Suhay. "All of this feeds into the increasing pessimism about whether the American dream is available to most Americans."
Financial stability and the economy
The definition of the American Dream can vary by individual, but CNBC's survey found strong agreement on multiple elements. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they'd need financial stability to feel they'd achieved it, followed by owning a home (58%), being happy (54%) and being free to pursue passions (51%).
The feeling of financial stability eludes many Americans right now, says Guy Berger, workforce economist-in-residence at employer education benefits platform Guild. "People are very, very gloomy about the economy," he says. That's exacerbated by stagnant hiring, particularly among younger workers, he adds.
Despite upticks in unemployment and inflation, "the economy itself is not terrible," says Berger. Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic, "really bad economic times are pretty far in the rearview mirror," he says, referring to periods like the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Inflation of the 1970s.
Having a high net worth helps ease financial anxiety more than a high income does, according to data from a May survey of 1,875 U.S. adults conducted by investing app Acorns. And Americans' definitions of a comfortable middle-class lifestyle have grown, Suhay says.
In the 1950s, it meant owning "a very small house," likely no car or college, and "rudimentary" health insurance, if any, says Suhay. Today, the archetype of middle-class life often includes a larger home, a car, good healthcare and college for your children, she says.
Higher expectations, plus an uneven concentration of American wealth — households in the top 1% control nearly one third of U.S. wealth, according to Federal Reserve data — threaten the idea of the American Dream for many people, Suhay says.
Even when people's definitions of the American Dream go beyond financial success, they often need solid financial footing first, both experts say. "Even if your individual American Dream is not a financial one, you're still anchored on having the means and ability" to pursue it, says Berger.
Differing visions of American success across political lines
Part of the American Dream is believing the U.S. can provide abundance meritocratically, and when centibillionaires exist alongside "a huge percentage of Americans earning much, much less," Suhay says, some people can feel "as though the American Dream isn't real."
In the CNBC survey, a significantly higher percentage of Republican-leaning respondents (70%) said the American Dream is in reach for most or all people in the U.S. today than Democratic-leaning respondents (26%). When asked if hard work or luck was more important to achieve the American Dream, Republican-leaning respondents were more likely than their political counterparts to cite hard work, while Democratic-leaning respondents were more likely to cite luck.
In seeking "equality for many different kinds of people," Democrats could be more drawn to see disparities that cast doubt on the idea of a meritocratic economy, Suhay says. The Republican party's historically strong ties with businesspeople and wealthy Americans support the belief that anyone can succeed in the U.S. economy, she adds.
'Ideological differences' between Gen Z men and women
The survey showed notable gaps between Gen Z men and women on matters of work and lifestyle.
Gen Z men were more likely than Gen Z women to say marriage (43% vs. 33%) and children (46% vs. 30%) were requisites for achieving the American Dream. Gen Z women were more likely than Gen Z men to cite other factors as necessary: financial stability (77% vs. 69%), freedom to pursue their passions (66% vs. 53%) and getting their dream jobs (50% vs. 36%).
"This very much maps on to ideological differences between young men and young women" in the U.S. right now, Suhay says.
For all the hurdles respondents cited in their pursuit of the American Dream, there were bright spots in the survey. Forty-four percent said they've already achieved the American Dream, and 55% of those who hadn't said they were confident that they will eventually.
As Suhay notes, "People tend to be more optimistic when talking about themselves or their futures than they are about the American public as a whole."
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