Just what is the American Dream? Depends on who you ask. Here’s a smattering of definitions, as well as some survey data on whether Americans still believe in the Dream, as defined by the survey makers and takers.

—

Chetty et al (2016) The Fading American Dream: Trends in Absolute Income Mobility Since 1940:

“One of the defining features of the “American Dream” is the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents.”

Essential components of the American Dream, as endorsed by respondents in 2017 Pew Research survey:

“Freedom of choice in how to live one’s life” (77% endorsed)

“A good family life” (70%)

“The ability to retire comfortably”(60%)

“Making valuable contributions to my community” (48%)

“Owning a home” (43%)

“Having a successful career” (43%)

“Becoming wealthy” (11%)

Pew Research responses (2017) on whether their families have achieved the American Dream:

  • Family has achieved American Dream: 36%

  • On way to achieving American Dream: 46%

  • American Dream is out of reach: 17%

The American Dream as defined in NORC survey question: “If you work hard, you’ll get ahead” (National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, 2023). Responses:

  • Still holds true: 36%

  • Never held true: 18%

  • Once held true but not anymore: 45%

A 2025 Gallup survey provided two versions of the American Dream, posing the question, For you and your family, is the American Dream more about:

  • Stability – being able to support your family with a job and safe place to live. (49% endorsed)

  • Opportunity - being able to improve the  quality of life for you and your family through education, better job opportunities and other resources. (51% endorsed)

Overall, 76% of the respondents in the Gallup study agreed that the American Dream is achievable, while 24% disagreed. The Opportunity-Dreamers were somewhat more optimistic than the the Stability-Dreamers that they would personally achieve the Dream (76% to 68%).

Note that none of the above surveys defined the American Dream as doing better than one’s parents (also known as intergenerational mobility), though that’s a definition often used in economic research papers, especially those that claim the Dream is in trouble (e.g., Chetty et al). And for the purpose of research, such a definition has its merits: it’s pretty straightforward to measure, and it addresses a real problem in some American communities. But doing better than one’s parents doesn’t seem all that important for most Americans, with the possible exception of first and second generation immigrants.

I did find it somewhat puzzling that the NORC survey respondents were so pessimistic, with 64% saying the American Dream was either never true or no longer true, especially compared to the ringing endorsements of the Dream in the Pew and Gallop surveys. It could be the question’s wording in the NORC survey triggered contrarian responses, maybe reflecting a political backlash to the idea that hard work guarantees success. Just Google “the myth of hard work” and you’ll find plenty of screeds to this effect, many from the politically tumultuous Covid era.

My takeaway from the Pew and Gallup surveys is that most Americans are doing well enough, given their goals and progress towards those goals so far. There may have been a time in US history when doing better than one’s parents resonated with a lot more Americans, such as for those coming of age during the Great Depression when James Truslow Adams coined the phrase “American Dream”. But it simply won’t do to have every generation do better than preceding generations, at least in material terms. That would lead to some serious over-consumption.

References:

American Dream Question / WSJ/NORC Poll / Conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with funding from the Wall Street Journal. October 2023 

Americans Split on Meaning of the American Dream by Sarah Fioroni / Gallup  August 27, 2025  

Political Typology Reveals Deep Fissures on the Right and Left / Pew Research Center  October 2017 

The fading American dream: Trends in absolute income mobility since 1940. Chetty, Raj, David Grusky, Maximilian Hell, Nathaniel Hendren, Robert Manduca, and Jimmy Narang. Science 356, no. 6336 (2017): 398-406. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aal4617