As the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of its founding on July 4, a new national survey suggests Americans remain deeply attached to the idea of the American Dream even as fewer believe it is equally accessible to everyone.

The 2026 State of the American Dream Study, conducted by Gallup and the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, found that 46% of U.S. adults believe "everyone in the country has the opportunity to achieve the American Dream," down 5 percentage points from 2024.

Despite that decline, Americans continue to express strong faith in the importance of the nation's defining aspiration.

According to the study, 78% of respondents said it is important to strive for the American Dream, while 69% said they expect to achieve it personally.

Researchers noted a significant gap between personal confidence and broader perceptions of opportunity, with many Americans expressing concern that systems and institutions do not provide equal access to success.

The findings arrive as Americans continue to navigate economic uncertainty, political divisions and concerns about affordability, social mobility and trust in public institutions.

A majority of respondents, 58%, described the American Dream as "unfinished," while 26% said it had failed and 16% said it had succeeded. The belief that the Dream remains unfinished crossed partisan lines, including 57% of Republicans, 60% of Democrats and 59% of independents.

Researchers found Americans most often associate the American Dream with financial security, protected rights and freedoms, homeownership and opportunities for upward mobility. Those priorities remained broadly consistent across demographic and political groups.

The survey also highlighted differences between immigrants and U.S.-born adults.

Adults born outside the United States expressed greater optimism about the nation’s future and were more likely to believe hard work leads to success, expect a better life than their parents and hold positive views of the American Dream's future.

The Gallup-Milken study is part of a multiyear effort to track how Americans view the American Dream and whether they believe it remains attainable. The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, a nonpartisan institution in Washington, describes its mission as promoting opportunity and understanding the factors that help individuals pursue success and fulfillment.

Researchers concluded that while confidence in equal access to opportunity has weakened, Americans continue to view the American Dream as a defining national ideal as the nation celebrates its semiquincentennial in 2026.

Gallup polled 6,381 U.S. adults nationwide from Jan. 7 to March 4, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.48 percentage points.