Welcome to the land of the fee and home of the bills.
The price of the American Dream surpassed $5 million in 2025 – a staggering $600,000 more than in 2024 and nearly 50% higher than just two years ago, according to a new Investopedia study.
The eye-watering $5,043,323 sum is the estimated total lifetime cost for typical American goals and milestones, including a wedding, healthcare, retirement, raising two kids and paying for their college, new cars every five years, and owning a home.
The dream cost $4.4 million last year and just $3.4 million in 2023, the investment site found.
“What most Americans deem to be reasonable financial milestones in their lives are becoming increasingly expensive, outpacing inflation, and are seemingly out of reach for many,” report author and Investopedia’s chief editor Caleb Silver told The Post.
The price surge this year, in part, was due to Investopedia factoring in the estimated lifetime cost for healthcare — $414,208 — which wasn’t included in previous breakdowns, Silver explained.
Meanwhile, the price of retirement jumped to $1,636,881 – a nearly $40,000 increase from last year – and the amount needed to raise two kids for 18 years and put them both through four-year universities climbed roughly the same amount, to $876,092 this year compared to $832,172 in 2024.
In 2025, the average American is expected to shell out $38,200 on a wedding; $39,381 on taking care of two pets, a cat and a dog; and $180,621 on annual vacations over a lifetime, Investopedia found.
These figures saw small changes compared to last year.
In contrast, a family buying 10 new cars over 50 years will now fork over $900,346 – nearly $90,000 more than last year’s $811,440 estimate – thanks to pricier insurance and higher financing costs.
Up from last year’s $929,955 estimate, the cost of purchasing and financing a house now stands at $957,594, as “a steady rise in home prices alongside high mortgage rates has made the dream of homeownership costlier than ever,” the report stated.
While “the reality is that most of us won’t earn anywhere close to $5 million over the course of our adult working careers,” Silver said, “it’s important to note that everyone’s dream is different and has its own unique price tag.”
And despite the hefty price tag, a survey from earlier this year found that hope in the American Dream was alive and well, with nearly seven in 10 U.S. adults saying they either believe they’ll achieve its key milestones or already have.
More Americans said their family is already living the dream or they felt it was within their reach this year compared to last year, according to the 2025 American Dream Snapshot.
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