Can I make it? › The data
The full picture
Four everyday questions, on the same yardstick: money, housing, health, and getting ahead. Here's the bottom line for each; tap any card for the receipts.
Money
≈ flatthe typical paycheck, after inflation, for 40 years
- ›Wages have barely moved in 40 years while the cost of everything climbed.
- ›Jobs are the bright spot, but the gains still pooled at the top, so the typical family didn't move.
The economy is doing well. Most people aren't.
See the full numbers →Housing
5.5×years of income to buy a home, nearly double the 1990s
- ›Half of renters are now cost-burdened, a record.
- ›First-time buyers are older than ever (40), and investors bid against families for the cheapest homes.
The ladder's still there. The first rung keeps moving up.
See the full numbers →Health
78.4years we live, behind every peer nation
- ›The uninsured rate is at a record low, the real win.
- ›But “deaths of despair” have doubled since 2008, and half who need mental-health care don't get it.
We cover more people than ever, and still live shorter, riskier lives than our peers.
See the full numbers →Education
50%of kids out-earn their parents, down from 92%
- ›The “do better than your parents” promise is now a coin flip.
- ›College costs are up 180% since 2000 and left $1.7T in debt, though apprenticeships are rising.
Education still pays, but it costs more, delivers less certainty, and starts you in debt.
See the full numbers →Every figure is real and sourced. Open any card for the full breakdown.