The total cost of the American dream is no small sum—$4.4 million—exceeding the average lifetime salaries of both men ($3.3 million) and women ($2.4 million) with a Bachelor’s degree.
Overall, the largest cost is paying for a comfortable retirement. Here, it takes $1.6 million in savings, assuming a 4% annual withdrawal rate and inflation averaging 2.5% per year to retire for 20 years. Notably, the decline in private pension schemes has played a large role in making financial security in later years harder to achieve compared to previous generations.
Unsurprisingly, owning a home was the second-biggest expense, at $930,000 for an existing single-family home. Given the surging cost of home prices,
77% of U.S. households are unable to afford a median-priced home in 2024.
As fertility rates in America hit historic lows, raising two children and sending them to college would cost $832,000 overall. Today, 36% of Americans under 50 who don’t have children cite affordability concerns as a major reason for not having kids. Moreover, average college tuition costs have climbed a remarkable 748% since 1963, after adjusting for inflation.
Following a similar trend,
wedding costs, too, have skyrocketed. Between 2019 and 2023, average costs increased by $4,000 alone amid inflationary pressures and pandemic backlogs. Today, it costs over $44,000, including the ceremony, reception, and engagement ring to say “I do”.
