A new Gallup-Milken survey found that while most Americans still value the American dream and expect to reach it personally, fewer believe everyone in the country has an equal chance to achieve it.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Americans continue to see the American dream as a core national ideal, but fewer now believe that everyone in the United States has a fair opportunity to attain it, according to a new national survey released ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary.
The 2026 State of the American Dream Study, conducted by Gallup and the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, found that 46% of U.S. adults believe everyone in the country has the opportunity to achieve the American dream.
That figure is down 5 percentage points from 2024, reflecting a decline in public confidence that the path to success is equally available across the country.
The findings come as the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding on July 4, 2026. Researchers said Americans remain strongly connected to the idea of the American dream, even as they express doubts about whether institutions, systems and economic conditions provide equal access to opportunity.
Respondents most often associated the American dream with financial security, protected rights and freedoms, owning a home and having a path to upward mobility. Those priorities were generally consistent across political, demographic and social groups, according to the study.
Despite weaker confidence in broad access to opportunity, most Americans still said the American dream remains personally meaningful. The survey found that 78% of adults said striving for the American dream is important, while 69% said they expect to achieve it themselves.
Researchers noted that gap as one of the study’s central findings: Many Americans remain optimistic about their own prospects but are less certain that the same opportunity exists for everyone.
The survey also found that most Americans do not view the American dream as complete.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents described the American dream as “unfinished.” Another 26% said it had failed, while 16% said it had succeeded.
The belief that the American dream remains unfinished crossed partisan lines. That view was shared by 57% of Republicans, 60% of Democrats and 59% of independents.
The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, a nonpartisan institution based in Washington, says its mission is to promote opportunity and examine the conditions that allow individuals to pursue success and fulfillment.
The study also found differences between immigrants and adults born in the United States. Adults born outside the country expressed greater optimism about America’s future and were more likely to believe hard work leads to success. They were also more likely to expect a better life than their parents and to hold positive views about the future of the American dream.
The Gallup-Milken study is part of a multiyear project tracking how Americans define the American dream and whether they believe it remains attainable.
Researchers concluded that the American dream still holds significant national meaning as the country approaches its semiquincentennial, even as confidence in equal opportunity has weakened.
Gallup surveyed 6,381 U.S. adults nationwide from Jan. 7 to March 4, 2026. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.48 percentage points.