As America nears its 250th anniversary, Newsweek embarked on an effort to assess the status of the American Dream across the nation. This initiative aims to highlight areas where the dream is flourishing, struggling, or undergoing quiet transformation where least expected. The Newsweek American Dream Index offers scores for 33,772 U.S. ZIP codes on a scale from 0 to 100, focusing on six key pillars of opportunity.

Six Pillars of Opportunity

The Index evaluates economic mobility, employment quality, education and skills, housing access, new business formation, and cost of living. These elements are weighed to determine if ordinary citizens can still advance economically. Despite the complexity of individual lives, the aggregation of these scores aims to spark discussions on the fulfillment of America’s promise.

The tool allows you to search your ZIP code, compare towns, and explore state and county rankings. This comprehensive look at the American Dream embodies a commitment to the idea that one’s starting point should not dictate their endpoint in life—a concept of progression and advancement that remains inconsistently realized.

Uneven Opportunities

The Index reveals disparities in opportunity. Places with high scores are not always the wealthiest but are locations where modest earnings can still lead to a stable life for a family. North Dakota, Utah, and the Great Plains’ farming communities rank alongside affluent suburbs such as Washington and Denver. Conversely, high living costs drag down many of the nation’s wealthiest cities.

The American Dream is not a straightforward path of advancement but a nuanced map showing where it thrives, is strained, or is being reimagined.

With towns like Huntsville, Bentonville, and lesser-known oil towns undergoing transformations, the Index paints an honest picture of opportunity. Despite its uneven nature, it continues to offer insight into how the American Dream is evolving.