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Last month, for America's 250th birthday, Newsweek set out to measure the promise at the country's core—and to map exactly where it is thriving, where it is struggling, and where it is quietly being rewritten.
The Newsweek American Dream Index scores all 33,772 U.S. ZIP codes from 0 to 100 across six pillars of opportunity. Crucially, it is weighted toward mobility.
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In other words, not how comfortable a place already is, but whether ordinary people there can still get ahead.
The findings upend the familiar coastal story: North Dakota, Utah and Minnesota lead the nation, while some of America's wealthiest metros are dragged down by the cost of housing.
The project was the cover story of Newsweek's July 31 issue. You can explore the full American Dream Index here—search your own ZIP code, compare any two places side by side, and browse the state map, county map and national rankings.
Our methodology page explains how we built it and how to use it, and everything from the series lives on the Dare to Dream hub.
We also asked our Members two questions: What does the American Dream mean to you? And do you think it is dead, or alive and well? The response was immediate and deeply personal.
Readers checked their own neighborhoods, argued with the scores, and told us what the numbers can never capture. Here is a selection, in their own words, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Illustration by Malika Favre for Newsweek
Green: "The American Dream to me has already been fulfilled as I have had a happy life, that I have shared with family and friends. Now that I am retired, I hope that millions of young Americans, including those born here and those that have come here from other countries, are able to enjoy a happy life and they have the opportunity for a good education and a good, well-paying job if that is the path they choose. We boomers were very fortunate to have lived in a time where millions of us were able to own a home, raise a family, and marry whoever we wanted. Hopefully, this will also be true of the next several generations."
Reinhold: "The American Dream is best encapsulated in Martin Luther King's speech 'I Have a Dream.' In that sense, it is not only an American dream but a universal challenge for all Christian and other well-meaning people."
James: "The American Dream meant that if you worked your butt off, you would become richer and in a better place. I worked my butt off in the military for 20 years, and after giving them my all, I came out disabled physically and mentally. While some would say being paid for my disability has made me richer, I wouldn't say I am in a better place. I don't think the American Dream is still alive. Mostly because workers get stuck in low-paying jobs even if they work their butts off. To succeed now, you need a college degree, and even that doesn't guarantee you anything."
Nicki: "The American Dream is alive and well, and while hotly debated at this moment in time, that is how the Dream came into existence to begin with. Even before the Founders, from the first Europeans on American soil, the Dream has been contested, at times violently, and it still exists, not just in tangibles, but mostly as just what the words imply: a Dream, which each soul has, individually and then collectively. The American Dream still lives in the heart, mind, and soul of people across the entire world, a Dream of being free to dream and free to try to obtain whatever I dream of."
Larry: "A country that is not full of racism and bigotry."
Ginger: "I just returned from a trip to the greater Detroit area. That is a perfect place to measure where the American Dream once thrived when I was young. The American Dream is certainly waning for the lower end of the economic scale and booming for the middle and upper classes there. The contrast between the 'McMansions' in Troy, Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, and Rochester and the neighborhoods struggling with recovery in Detroit, Ferndale, Oak Park, Highland Park, et al., is shocking. The Haves definitely HAVE a-plenty, and the Have Nots are clearly struggling. I observed the American Dream is dead for so many people, primarily for people of color, while the American Dream is alive and well for the upper economic classes. Dare I say it's half-dead? Or is it half-alive? Surely the upper class treats the American Dream as a given. And the middle class is struggling to realize the Dream."
Ron: "What does (did) the American Dream mean to you? I have adjusted the question slightly as times have changed since I came to America, not particularly in search of it, but aware of it, and that awareness led to the search. What it was for me was a few bucks in my pocket, a walk among the giants in NYC, a journey to D.C., visiting the Grand Canyon, taking a deep breath at Mount Rushmore, and driving through prairie lands. America is a wondrous place; if you enjoy and appreciate it, you have found the dream."
Lloyd: "Do not think this can be meaningfully measured. Ask a homeless, unemployed, or sick person what they think, compared to someone cruising around on a yacht, driving a Porsche, and/or living in Beverly Hills. For one, there is no future, just a lousy present. For the other, life is great. It does bother me that the gulf between the two is so wide that those with much feel very little obligation to help those not doing as well."
David: "What does the American Dream mean to you? Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do you think the American Dream is dead, or alive and well? The American Dream has always been tenuous. There have been recent significant gains. There have been recent significant losses. But that uniquely American idea remains: if it isn't happening where you are, move and seek it elsewhere. Anyone's American dream is still out there somewhere in the U.S."
Ruby: "The American Dream to me is composed of several things. I want freedom to read whatever I want, to listen to any music I want. I want healthcare that I can afford and not be left bankrupt if something bad happens to me. I want to be able to afford groceries and feed my family nutritious food and water. I want education and affordable college or trade school so anyone can find their dream. My dream is that all people treat others with, and be treated with, fairness and respect."
Here at Newsweek, we like to think big—and it doesn't get much bigger than the American Dream. That's why we created the American Dream Index, which ranks every state, every county, and every ZIP code in an interactive platform for our members. It shows where the American Dream is thriving, where it is struggling, and where it is being rewritten.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the dream of independent journalism alive. Members also enjoy ad-free browsing, exclusive content like the American Dream Index and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.
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