We’re tempted to cheer that divorce rates have (so far) decreased for millennials who married in the 2010s, according to new research from the Institute for Family Studies. But behind that trend lies a deeper story — one that raises some questions about the future of the American Dream.
Yes, divorce rates are lower than in previous generations, but fewer people are getting married in the first place, a trend that’s persisted for years as more people opt out of marital unions — not surprising, given many of these young adults themselves grew up with divorced parents.
But it’s not just coupling trends that are shifting. So are the other traditional markers of adulthood.
Fewer young adults own their own home today than ever before, even though three-quarters of millennials surveyed by Bankrate.com still view buying a home as part of the American Dream.
Lower marriage rates and lower homeownership among younger adults seems to indicate the increasing elusiveness of what we have long considered the American Dream of owning your own place and building a family.
So what’s going on? Is this a generational shift in values — or the predictable result of a system that’s become too expensive and too precarious for anyone to gain a foothold?
If millennials learned anything from the Great Recession, it’s that owning a home can be risky, especially if you take on more than you can comfortably afford. Too many of their baby boomer and Gen X parents did that, and many lost homes to foreclosure. Student loan debt is also a big factor. Yes, millennials are the most educated group of buyers in the marketplace, but that pedigree didn’t come cheap. Average student loan debt per borrower is nearly $39,000. Unsurprisingly, fewer young people are opting to go to college at all these days, explaining why universities the nation over now are scrambling to scrounge up enough students.
So is the American Dream disintegrating? Or is it changing shape?
We think the answer is a bit of both. Affordability plays no small role in explaining why fewer young people buy a home or choose to go into debt for a degree.
Also, millennials with their higher levels of educational attainment, want something to show for their hard work — which has led more to pursue careers before the stroller and the white picket fence.
COVID also shifted priorities and how they define “success,” with many opting for paths that yield independence and flexibility over status.
Marriage may come back into vogue — a recent New York Times study suggested Gen Z is more pro-marriage than previous generations with most therein expecting to marry.
If Gen Z does bring marriage back into fashion, it won’t be a return to tradition so much as a reinvention of it — one that values stability, yes, but also flexibility and purpose. That’s the American Dream now.
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/07/millennials-gen-z-marriage-homeownership-american-dream/