The American dream is being reshaped by the pressure of making ends meet, covering daily expenses and trying to preserve any kind of meaningful life, according to a new Simon-Kucher study shared exclusively with USA TODAY. The survey of 5,000 adults found that the old script of homeownership, family, hard work and financial stability is still hanging around, but it is no longer the only story people are willing to tell while the cost of living keeps tightening its grip.
Who Gets Crushed First
For younger Americans, the dream is less about a polished ladder upward and more about surviving the day without getting flattened by the economy’s demands. Shikha Jain, a Simon-Kucher partner and lead of the consumer sector for North America, said, “The last few years have been difficult for Americans.” She said, “The American dream is still alive, but it’s no longer defined by a shared and uniform vision from long ago, pining for home ownership, raising a family, achieving financial stability, and marked by hard work.”
Jain said, “Today, the new American dream is very personal and represents making life work today, by making ends meet, covering daily expenses, and enjoying meaningful experiences.” She said the American dream is about preserving a quality of life that aligns with individual goals, values and personal fulfillment. That is what happens when the old promises collide with a financial environment that keeps forcing trade-offs onto ordinary people.
Paige Friscioni, 38, said she grew up hearing that the American dream meant going to college, working hard, buying a house, having kids and a dog, and living comfortably until retirement. As she got older, she said she saw peers check those boxes and find themselves miserable or wanting something else. “So maybe the American dream isn’t really the house or the job or whatever, the Goldendoodle. Maybe the real American dream is the freedom to decide what your life looks like,” Friscioni said in a recent TikTok post.
The Old Script, Still Selling
The survey found that a majority of respondents still believed in the traditional American dream of homeownership, family, hard work, stability and financial progress. Sixty-six percent saw homeownership as central to the traditional American dream, 61% said raising a family was central, 58% said seeing success through hard work was central, 56% rated financial stability as key and 55% rated stable employment as key.
But the report also said younger generations define the American dream less consistently and are still more connected to the idea, with the change described as a redefinition rather than a rejection. Personal definitions are becoming less universal, especially among younger generations, with a focus on personal freedom and independence, safety and security, retiring comfortably and financial stability to meet basic needs.
Jain said baby boomers are retirement-oriented, while younger Americans are focused on immediate financial goals like paying for essentials and discretionary experiences. She said that tension creates trade-offs for Gen Z and millennials who are taking on debt and sacrificing long-term goals like owning a home to maintain a quality of life in a challenging financial environment.
The numbers show how uneven that burden is. For baby boomers, the top category was retiring comfortably at 71%. For Gen X, the top category was tied between retirement and financial stability, meaning meeting basic needs, at 60%. For millennials and Gen Z, the top category was personal freedom and independence, at 50% and 52%.
No Clear Path Through the Maze
The path to achieving the American dream appears less clear among respondents. Thirty-five percent said there was no clear or best path. No single route, including a career in skilled trade or technology, a four-year degree or a creative or independent career, ranked above 15%.
Overall, 43% to 62% of respondents said core milestones such as home ownership, early retirement and financial independence are more difficult for most Americans to achieve than for older generations. Cost of living was the universal barrier, with all four generations citing it as the biggest barrier to achieving current life aspirations. Younger Americans said job insecurity was also a major barrier, with Gen Z at 31% and millennials at 26%, compared with 20% of Gen X and 5% of baby boomers.
Money and wealth still mean success to many Americans, but there are generational differences. While all generations ranked financial wealth as their top measure of success, baby boomers at 23% and Gen X at 18% ranked material possessions second, while millennials and Gen Z ranked freedom over your time second, tied at 16% for both. Jain said, “Many Americans are choosing quality of life over status and wealth accumulation, seeking personal experiences and control like flexibility at home and work, even if it means trading in long-term savings.”
Homeownership also still ranked high among all generations as part of the American dream. Seventy-nine percent of baby boomers said they owned a home, while 64% of Gen X, 59% of millennials and 29% of Gen Z were homeowners. Among younger generations, 78% of millennials and 84% of Gen Z said they hoped to one day own a home, but 58% of millennials and 59% of Gen Z said it was harder than previous generations.
The findings were similar to another study earlier this year by the Savannah College of Art and Design’s applied research studio. In that study, Gen Z and millennials said they felt the path to financial stability is steeper and more precarious than it was for past generations and that the dream felt outmoded or distant. Financial security had become the most important aspect of the American dream for young respondents.
Friscioni, a millennial who lives in Detroit and owns a business selling designer toys, said she believes she has reached the American dream, but not the one she was taught growing up. She said she traveled around the world after high school, has a Gen Z-aged daughter and bought a house at a young age, but always felt judged by others. “The American dream shouldn’t be something that’s designed by somebody else. It should be something that’s designed by you,” Friscioni said. “The American dream isn’t that perfect thing anymore. The real American dream is to decide what you want to be,” she said.