Latest UCI-OC Poll finds rising costs reshaping how people live their lives
By Mimi Ko Cruz
Nine out of 10 Orange County residents — Republicans and Democrats, renters and homeowners, rich and poor — agree on at least one thing: buying a home is harder today than it was for their parents. The latest UCI-OC Poll, published today, suggests that’s just the beginning of the problem.
The poll, conducted by UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology, surveyed 809 Orange County adults from June 9-12 and found residents evenly divided over whether the American Dream remains achievable in the county:
- 45% say it is still attainable and
- 45% say it once was, but no longer is.
“What’s striking here is that residents haven’t given up on the American Dream itself,” said Jon Gould, dean of the School of Social Ecology and director of the UCI-OC Poll. “What they’re questioning is whether Orange County can still be the place where that dream becomes real.”
That finding stands in contrast to a 2024 national survey in which 53% of Americans said the American Dream was still achievable, suggesting Orange County residents are more pessimistic than the country at large, despite living in one of the nation’s wealthiest regions, Gould noted.
Part of the complexity, the poll suggests, is that residents don't agree on what the American Dream actually means.
- About 28% define it as financial security and stability.
- 22% describe it as owning a home and raising a family, and
- 22% emphasize freedom and personal independence.
Generational differences:
- Gen Z residents, at 38%, are far more likely than any other age group to define the American Dream through the lens of freedom and personal independence, compared with 11% who mention homeownership and family.
- Millennials and Gen X residents, by contrast, most often define the Dream by homeownership and raising a family, at 30% and 32%, respectively.
- Boomers prioritize financial security above all else.
“These generational differences tell us something important,” Gould said. “Younger residents may be redefining the Dream precisely because the traditional version — the house, the family, the stable career — feels out of reach.”
Whatever their definition, residents largely agree that achieving the Dream has become harder.
- Nearly seven in ten (69%) say hard work alone is no longer sufficient to afford a home and raise a family.
- When asked to compare today’s conditions to those faced by previous generations: 93% say buying a home is harder now, 79% say the same about raising a family and 70% say obtaining a good job has become more difficult.
Homeownership stands in a category by itself.
- Nearly six in 10 residents (57%) say Orange County’s cost of living has caused them to delay or scale back at least one major life decision — buying a home, getting married, having children or changing careers. And, more than a third say they have postponed multiple milestones.
- 76% of Millennials report delaying or scaling back major decisions because of costs, compared with 36% of Boomers.
Despite their concerns, residents have not given up on Orange County.
- When asked whether they would encourage a young adult to build a future in the county, 67% said yes — though nearly half of those would do so with reservations about costs and opportunities. Only 19% would encourage it without reservation.
- At the same time, more residents believe the county’s best years are behind it (45%) than ahead (32%).
“It’s a complicated kind of loyalty,” Gould said. “People love this place, they want to stay and they want the next generation to have what they had. But, they’re also clear-eyed about the fact that it’s getting harder.”
State of the County
Gould discussed the latest poll today at the fourth annual State of the County, sponsored by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Presenting the findings to a live audience of 500 community and business leaders and policymakers, Gould opened by framing Orange County as a place long tied to the California dream — a region that grew from agricultural fields into the sixth most populous county in America. But, he asked, “is it still possible to achieve your dreams here?”
Gould walked attendees through the poll's key findings on how residents define the American Dream, noting the generational divide between older residents who prioritize financial security, middle generations focused on homeownership and family, and younger Gen Z residents who gravitate toward freedom and personal independence.
He also engaged the audience directly, asking for a show of hands on whether they believe the American Dream is still achievable in Orange County and noted, with some humor, that the crowd skewed more optimistic than the county at large.
Gould highlighted one of the poll's more unexpected findings: that white residents were the most pessimistic racial or ethnic group, while Asian Americans were the most optimistic, with a majority saying the Dream is still possible. He also pointed to religiosity as a surprisingly independent predictor of optimism — one he said he still can't fully explain.
He closed on a cautiously hopeful note, pointing out that despite widespread concerns about costs and the feeling that the county’s best days may be behind it, two-thirds of residents would still encourage a young person to build a future in Orange County.
“People love this place,” he said. “The big cut point in all of our polling is 46 and older versus 45 and younger. If you take 46 and older, this is generally a very satisfied county. If you take 45 and younger, this is a very nervous county.”
He urged the assembled community leaders to take that anxiety seriously.
The poll is funded by the Haynes Foundation. Read the full report of the latest survey on the UCI-OC Poll website or on ISSUU.