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As part of our Home Building series, @AmerCompass conducted a survey of 2,000 parenting-age Americans to better understand the state of America's families, their priorities, and their views on family policy. The findings are stark: 
https://americancompass.org/essays/home-building-survey-part-1/
https://americancompass.org/essays/home-building-survey-part-1/
The American Dream may not be dead, but it sure is elusive. Only one-quarter of Americans say they and their families are living it, and the rest don't seem to be on their way. The picture looks similar for 18-24 year olds, 25-34s, and 35-50s.
3/ Unsurprisingly, Americans with higher levels of education are more likely to say they are living the American dream. But it's important to note that it takes a 4-year degree to move the needle. Those with "Some College" actually seem worst off.
4/ Marriage's connection to the American Dream is striking. Married and middle class is equivalent to unmarried and upper class; married and working class better than unmarried and middle class, etc.
5/ Even for married couples, though, the picture looks grim when it comes to raising a family. Nearly half of married couples (and half of all parenting-age Americans) report having fewer children than they want. (This excludes people who say their families are still growing.)
6/ Unmet fertility goals is one of the few areas where class doesn't seem to matter much -- roughly half of parenting-age Americans report having fewer children than they want, regardless of income and education level.
7/ As might be expected, but still jumps off the page, the _reason_ that people don't feel they can have as many kids as they want varies dramatically by class. For most, it's "can't afford." For the upper class, it's conflict with "preferred lifestyle or career."
8/ Across the board, by more than two-to-one, Americans believe government should provide more support to families. Notably, their rationales are that families are falling behind and assistance would help children, not that parents deserve pay or we need higher fertility.
9/9 For more on Public Policy for the American Family, check out our full Home Building collection. More to come in the next few weeks, including more data from on our survey the kinds of support Americans think families need. https://americancompass.org/collections/home-building/
