The “American Dream” costs about $3.4 million to achieve over the course of a lifetime, about $130k a year, from getting married to saving for retirement, according to a recent analysis.
- Meanwhile, median lifetime earnings for the typical U.S. worker stand at $1.7 million, or $74,450a year.
- Such figures underline the financial pressures that many families face trying to afford a middle-class life as expenses like child care, college tuition and buying a home continue to climb.