Most Young Adults in the U.S. no Longer Believe the American Dream Holds True

A large majority of people in the United States now believes that the American dream doesn't hold true. Concretely, a poll by ABC News/Ipsos showed that the notion, defined as "if you work hard you'll get ahead," is considered to be true but just 27% of respondents.

The figure has shown a sharp drop compared to 2010, when 50% of all respondents said the American dream still held true. Overall, 70% of people surveyed said that the American dream "once held true but does not anymore" (52%) or that it never held true (18%).

However, the situation is even more dire among young adults, plummeting from 56% in 2010 to 21% at the moment. 24% of those aged between 30 and 64 held the same view, jumping to 41% among those 65 and older. It is nonetheless notable that all age groups saw a drop.

The poll showed that Black Americans were the most pessimistic when it comes to the American dream notion, with the share of those saying it still holds true falling from 34% to 21%. Those saying it never held true rose to 32%, up 23 percentage points compared to 23% in 2010.

Even though the poll's findings didn't single out the answers given by Latino respondents, another survey by Axios published last week showed that this demographic was disproportionately discontent with the American dream concept. Concretely, two thirds of Latino respondents said the American dream doesn't matter for them anymore, compared to 54% overall.

Back in the ABC News poll, yearly income was a key factor in determining the level of satisfaction with the American dream, although the vast majority still showing negative feelings towards it. More than 80% of those earning less than $50,000 a year said the notion doesn't hold true, dropping to 67% in households earning more than $100,000 a year.

The economy has shown to be a key driver of societal interest in most polls and is set to have a large impact in November's elections. One from AP-NORC published on Tuesday showed that over 75% of U.S. adults across racial backgrounds listed issues related to the economy when asked about five topics they would want the government to focus on in 2024.

Inflation stood out among economic issues, with 30% of Latinos making a specific reference to price increases. The same proportion of Whites and AAPI adults gave that answer, while two out of every ten Blacks did so.

The poll results coincide with another, larger one focused on the Latino community and released in late November. Conducted by UnidosUS, it found that inflation, the labor market and the economy are currently the biggest concerns for this demographic.