National survey: Americans share common aspirations for a better life

A study of 30,000 Americans examines what they aspire to, the barriers they face, and their confidence in the future across different life stages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic status. 

The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, in collaboration with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, today released, “In pursuit of progress: Americans’ aspirations for economic mobility,” a large-scale study examining how Americans define opportunity, the barriers they face, and what they believe it will take to build a better future. The findings are based on a survey sample of more than 30,000 adults in all 50 states that is representative across age, gender, income, race and ethnicity. It is supplemented by in-depth interviews and focus groups. The research identifies five key themes shaping economic mobility today:

• Americans share more common aspirations than today’s public discourse suggests. Nearly two-thirds of respondents cite financial security as key to a better life in the next 3-5 years.
• Rising costs are the defining obstacle. Cost-of-living concerns are equally shared among high and low-income households, with 60 percent of respondents citing the rising cost of living as a top barrier to achieving their goals. Ninety percent of respondents cite groceries and food as a top cost-of-living concern, followed by housing, transportation, and healthcare.
• Community connection is a powerful force. Respondents who feel strongly connected to their communities are more than twice as likely to feel they have a say in their lives, more than three times as likely to feel in control of their future, and nearly four times as likely to feel their lives have momentum, even controlling for demographics. However, only one-third of respondents report feeling this strong sense of connectedness.
• The role of place. Rural respondents are nearly twice as likely as their urban peers to name more good jobs with career pathways as the top change that would improve opportunity in their community. Urban respondents, meanwhile, are more likely than rural residents to name affordable housing and more than twice as likely to name improved safety as priorities.
• Institutions have a critical role in expanding opportunities. Employers are among the institutions Americans most frequently identify as helping them get ahead, while governments are viewed as bearing the greatest responsibility for expanding opportunity. 

“We believe every person deserves to thrive, and this research shows that Americans are united by a common aspiration: creating a better future for themselves and the next generation,” said Carla Thompson Payton, chief strategist and impact officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “Everyone wants to succeed, even as rising costs put those goals further out of reach. Meeting this moment will require action across sectors—from policies that make everyday life more affordable, to employers creating pathways to good jobs and communities working together to expand opportunity. We are looking for equitable outcomes, but the solutions have to be intentional and nuanced for the communities they are serving. It is not a one size fits all approach. We need all sectors to work in collaboration to make the changes necessary so that all children can thrive, particularly those children who have the least access to resources in their communities. We are ready to continue to partner in this work, because of our DNA focused on racial equity and racial healing, community engagement and leadership.”

Three pivotal life stages shape Americans’ experiences with economic mobility

The research also finds that differences in how Americans experience economic mobility are shaped by life stage. For example, young adulthood, raising a family, and preparing for retirement each bring distinct aspirations, pressures, and tradeoffs that influence how people experience economic mobility.

• Young adulthood – Ambition meets uncertainty: Young adults are the most career and income focused of any age group yet face a labor market today characterized by uncertainty. Nearly 80 percent of respondents ages 18–24 identify career advancement or earning more income as a top priority. However, economic uncertainty is only part of the story.  Thirty-four percent of young adult respondents cite mental health as their top barrier to progress, more than twice the rate of other respondents.

• Parents – Building opportunity while balancing growing pressures: Parents consistently prioritize creating better opportunities for their children. While cost-of-living concerns are top barriers expressed by higher and lower-income parents alike, lower-income parents are more likely to cite physical and mental health challenges and unemployment or job loss as barriers than higher-income parents, who are most likely to cite time as a barrier to progress.  

• Adults approaching retirement – Optimism begins to wane: Outlook measures generally decline as respondents near and enter retirement, particularly around perceptions of progress and financial trajectories. Just 37 percent of respondents aged 55 to 64 agree that their life has momentum and that they are making significant progress towards their goals, compared with 43 percent of overall respondents

The role of American institutions 
The report also finds that Americans believe institutions have an important role to play in expanding opportunity. Government is viewed as bearing the greatest responsibility, with roughly 60 percent of respondents ranking federal, state, and local governments among the top three institutions responsible for helping them get ahead. However, expectations do not match perceived effectiveness, with only 30 percent citing that government has been most helpful for them getting ahead in the past.

On the contrary, people view employers in a different light. Employers are seen as among the most effective institutions in people’s day-to-day lives. Over 40 percent of respondents include them in the top three institutions in helping them get ahead.

The report highlights four priorities for leaders across sectors: making everyday life more affordable; treating health as critical economic infrastructure; expanding access to good jobs and career pathways; and strengthening community connection and voice.

“The task for leaders and institutions is not simply to understand these aspirations, but to respond to them effectively,” said JP Julien, Partner at McKinsey & Company. “Sustained attention to the barriers that Americans have identified, and a willingness to put forward targeted, collaborative solutions across sectors that meet their most pressing needs can help accelerate economic mobility.”

About the report 
Our analysis is based on a proprietary online survey of 30,119 adults in the United States, fielded from April 1 to April 13, 2026. The sample was designed to reflect the US adult population across age, gender, household income, race and ethnicity, and region. Sampling targets, strategic oversampling, and post-stratification weighting were used to ensure broad representation across demographic groups and geographies. 

The survey was designed to capture both current experiences and future aspirations related to economic mobility. Topics included short- and long-term goals, perceived barriers and constraints, financial condition and resilience, place and neighborhood choice, and views on institutional responsibility and effectiveness. Questions combined multiple-choice items, rankings, Likert-scale measures, and open-ended responses.

Approximately 30,000 open-ended responses were analyzed using AI-assisted classification and a structured taxonomy comprising 23 subcategories across major aspiration domains (such as financial security, health and well-being, and career development and advancement). The analysis also combines demographic and geographic segmentation, as well as measures of financial vulnerability, financial momentum, personal autonomy, and neighborhood connectedness. 

To provide additional context, the research included video interviews with 32 participants from diverse backgrounds, as well as six in-depth follow-on interviews examining aspirations, constraints, and life experiences in greater depth. We also conducted three focus groups with 300 Americans, including one specifically to better understand perceptions of employer support and economic opportunity, the role employers play in participants’ lives, and what forms of employer support are perceived as most effective.

About the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility
The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility is a think-and-do tank within McKinsey & Company dedicated to helping institutions across sectors take coordinated action to accelerate inclusive economic growth and improve economic opportunity. The institute produces research, convenes stakeholders, and develops tools and assets to support real-world impact. For more information, visit www.mckinsey.com/institute-for-economic-mobility.  

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life. The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.