The American dream will now cost you over $3m: Report
Business
Even so, the average lifetime earnings of Americans will not cover it all
(Web Desk) - The price tag to achieve the traditional American Dream of a two-parent household with two kids, a home, a car and a pet has risen to above $3 million.
That's according to the personal finance website Investopedia, which recently published an analysis of the average cost of the 10 major aspirations most associated with the American Dream.
The average cost to achieve them all comes to (gulp) $3,455,305, and includes marriage, home ownership, children, college and retirement — and let's not forget pets, cars and funeral costs.
The website defines the American Dream as the belief that anyone, regardless of birthplace, economic or social status, can achieve success "in a society in which upward mobility is possible for everyone."
Checking off all those goals, however, may be out of reach for most Americans.
Regardless of education, the average lifetime earnings of all Americans are roughly $2.3 million, according to a report from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce.
The average life expectancy in the United States is 76.4 years, according to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here is a breakdown of the most expensive items of the American Dream, in order of cost, health insurance, buying a house, retirement and raising two children.
Average family premiums for health insurance, based on the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2023 Employer Health Benefits Survey, over a 39-year period (ages 26-65) came to $934,752.
The average value of a home in the U.S. as of September 2023 was $346,653, according to Zillow. The lifetime cost of buying one with a 30-year fixed loan at 7.2% and 10% down payment is $796,998, according to the analysis, which used data from Zillow and the St. Louis Fed.
The average amount needed to retire is $715,968 — which adds up to 80% of the 2022 national median household income accrued annually over 12 years.
The cost of raising two kids to the age of 18 is $576,896, an amount that covers food, clothing and transportation, according to 2015 USDA data that was adjusted for inflation.
