The Middle-Class American Dream Is Crumbling — 3 Ways Gen Z Can Still Achieve It
If you feel like the basic building blocks of the middle-class American Dream — a house, two cars and a few children — have become an increasingly impossible dream to financially afford, you’re not alone.
A recent Investopedia analysis has found that these cornerstones of American middle-class life have become more and more inaccessible to those navigating their young adulthood: Gen Z and millennials. Read on to find out how Gen Z can still achieve the American dream that seems to be slipping away.
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Where Has the Traditional Middle-Class Lifestyle Gone?
According to the analysis, in 1971, the American middle class made up 61% of the country’s population; by 2023, that number dropped to 51%. Costs are a significant reason for this, as modern living has becoming staggeringly expensive.
For example, and as Investopedia pointed out, the cost of owning a home has outright doubled in the last several years. The median cost of a single-family home in America was $164,000 in 2012; in 2026, that has grown to $357,275. Meanwhile, the cost of raising a child leapt from $165,630 in 2000 to $414,000 in 2025 — that’s a spike of 150%. Along the way, the costs of healthcare and education for Gen Z and millennials has also continued to skyrocket.
Additionally, the cost of living on America’s coasts has grown exponentially, so much so that the middle class has all but disappeared in major coastal and metro locales and now maintains a foothold in mostly Midwest and rural regions.
Gen Z Can Still Discover the American Dream
While the American Dream has become something of a nightmare to achieve, there are still ways to do it. Recently, MoneyLion spoke to financial experts on just how to do so.
Recalibrate Your Timeline
“The traditional path of buying a starter home at 25, getting married young and quickly building wealth through home appreciation has become mathematically harder in many areas of the country,” said Jon Brooks, housing market analyst and brokerage founder at Momentum Realty. “This doesn't mean the American Dream is dead. It just means the strategy has to evolve.”
Brooks suggested that Gen Z’s version of financial success will require a combination of “flexibility, delayed gratification, geographic mobility and multiple income streams.” His advice on how to do so? Recognize that, unlike previous generations, you have to wait until your 30s or 40s to achieve the American Dream, rather than your 20s.
“Focus on income growth first,” he added, “avoid lifestyle inflation, buy assets before luxuries and think in decades rather than years.”
Utilize Geography
“Geography is the biggest lever you possess and is the most under-appreciated move that I know of,” said Cody Schuiteboer, president and CEO of Best Interest Financial, in terms of how Gen Z can navigate the shrinking middle class. As he noted — and Investopedia confirmed in its reportage — middle-class Americans who are “just getting by” in an expensive city like Seattle are thriving in Midwest states like Nebraska and Iowa. Schuiteboer also suggested that, with hybrid and remote work becoming more and more commonplace, you can keep your job while still moving across the country.
Don’t Stack Your Milestones, Sequence Them
“The old way of doing things included marriage, kids, buying cars and purchasing a house in a compressed time frame,” Schuiteboer said. “The most successful young households buy the smaller house first, allow it time to appreciate and only then do the next milestone … It is much better to space out dreams in the correct order than to try to fulfill everything and do it all at once.”
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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