Gen Z and millennials aren’t convinced the American Dream exists anymore: Only 40% of them can afford to buy a home

For as long as the American Dream has been around, homeownership was considered an intractable piece of the wealth-building puzzle. For many young people in the U.S. nowadays, however, just the idea of one day owning a home is a dream. After speaking dourly about the housing market for years, young Americans are now changing their minds about what it means to succeed financially in this country. Nearly 90% of American adults under 40 say buying a home now is harder than it was for their parents, according to a Pew Research Center survey published last week. Their skepticism is likely justified. The median U.S. home now sells for around $400,000, up more than 20% since 2019. Meanwhile, median household income has remained broadly flat over the same period, a dynamic that has primarily penalized younger prospective homebuyers. In 2019, 56% of renter households under 40 could afford the monthly cost of owning a home, according to Pew, a share that had dropped to just 37% by 2024. That affordability squeeze is reshaping how young Americans think about homeownership itself. Only 24% of Americans under 40 call buying a home a very good investment decision, compared with 38% of adults 60 and older. Owning a home has long been considered part of financial freedom and the larger American Dream, but that concept itself has lost its sheen as a rising share of young Americans grow disillusioned with it. Chasing a different dream Another Pew survey, published in 2024, found Americans aged 18 to 29 were the least likely to say the American Dream was still possible, and the most likely to say it is now an unachievable ideal. When it comes to housing, that sentiment is translating into behavior. A poll published in April by Gallup found just 25% of non-homeowners now expect to buy a home within five years—the lowest share since Gallup began asking the question in 2013. Among non-homeowners aged 18 to 34, only 29% expect to buy within five years, down from 53% just a decade ago, and