How immigrant and U.S.-born Latinos see economic mobility and the American dream

About this research

This Pew Research Center analysis focuses on U.S. Latinos’ views of the American dream and their outlook on economic mobility.

Why did we do this?

Pew Research Center conducts high-quality research to inform the public, journalists and decision-makers. This analysis builds on a larger body of work that explores the attitudes and experiences of Latinos in the U.S.

Learn more about Pew Research Center, our research on Hispanics in the U.S. and other research on race and ethnicity.

How did we do this?

This analysis is based on Pew Research Center’s latest National Survey of Latinos, conducted from Oct. 6 to 16, 2025, among a sample of 8,046 U.S. adults. Some 4,923 Hispanics were surveyed, with 1,125 respondents who are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP) and 3,798 respondents who are members of SSRS’s Opinion Panel. The survey also included 3,114 non-Hispanic ATP members. Here are the questions used for this analysis, detailed responses and the methodology.

The survey was conducted in English and Spanish. Respondents were recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection.

Interviews took place either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education, presidential vote (among voters) and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology.

List of key terms

The terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably in this report.

The term immigrant refers to respondents born outside the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico. When data is available, this group also includes people born outside these places to parents born outside these places. The terms immigrant and foreign born are used interchangeably.

The term U.S. born refers to respondents born in the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico. When the data is available, this group also includes those born elsewhere to at least one parent who was born in these places.

Second generation refers to respondents who are U.S. born with at least one immigrant parent.

Third or higher generation refers to respondents who are U.S. born with both parents also U.S. born.

This analysis includes comparisons between Latino adults and other adults. In these cases, the term other U.S. adults refers to are those who are not Hispanic. The terms other U.S. adults, other adults and other Americans are used interchangeably.

We asked respondents whether they have achieved the American dream, are on their way to achieving it, believe it’s out of reach or that it doesn’t exist. We use the phrase believe the American dream exists to refer to those who say they have achieved it, they are on their way to achieving it, or that it is out of reach. This group excludes those who say the American dream does not exist.

Latinos in the United States broadly view living standards as improving across generations – both when looking back at their parents and looking ahead for their children.

Overall, immigrant Latinos hold more positive views about intergenerational economic progress than those born in the U.S. At the same time, immigrants are less likely than the U.S. born to say the American dream has become harder to achieve. Many Latinos define the American dream in economic terms, such as financial stability, economic opportunity and homeownership.

These findings come from Pew Research Center ’s National Survey of Latinos, a nationally representative, bilingual survey including 4,923 U.S. Latino adults, conducted Oct. 6-16, 2025. Read key findings from the survey.

Hispanic immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born Hispanics to see improving living standards

Hispanic adults share broadly positive views about how standards of living have improved for themselves and are likely to improve for their children. Immigrants are more upbeat than U.S.-born Hispanics across these measures.

When comparing their own standard of living with their parents’:

• 70% of immigrant Latinos say their standard of living is better than that of their parents at the same age, while about half of U.S.-born Latinos (49%) say the same.
• Among U.S.-born Latinos, 53% of second-generation adults (those with at least one immigrant parent) say their standard of living is better than their parents’, while 46% of third or higher generation adults (those with both parents born in the U.S.) say the same.

When comparing their children’s standard of living with their own:

• Immigrant Latinos (63%) are also more likely than U.S.-born Latinos (48%) to say their children’s standard of living will be better than their own.
• Among U.S.-born Latinos, views are similar across the second generation and third or higher generation.

How do Latino immigrants compare with other U.S. immigrants?

Optimism among Latino immigrants mirrors a similar pattern in the rest of the U.S. population: Immigrants are generally more hopeful about their economic future than U.S.-born adults.

Even so, Latino immigrants are more optimistic than other U.S. immigrants.

• 70% of Latino immigrants say their own standard of living is better than that of their parents, compared with 59% among other U.S. immigrants.
• 63% of Latino immigrants say their children’s standard of living will be better, while 35% of other U.S. immigrants say this.

Refer to the appendix for detailed tables showing responses by more Latino subgroups and how they compare with other U.S. adults.

Has the American dream become harder to achieve? Latinos born in the U.S. are more likely to say yes

Overall, Latino immigrants and U.S.-born Latinos are about as likely to say they have achieved the American dream. But attitudes toward whether the American dream has become harder or easier to achieve vary across immigrant generations:

• 48% of U.S.-born Latinos say the American dream is now harder to achieve than it was for their parents, while 35% of immigrant Latinos say the same.
• Among U.S.-born Latinos, 52% of the third or higher generation say the American dream has become harder to achieve, while 44% of the second generation say the same.