More than three-quarters of American adults now support large, publicly funded investments for children, commonly called baby bonds (PDF). Originally introduced in 2010, the concept behind baby bonds is straightforward: Give children an investment at birth that will grow over 18 years and can be used for wealth-building purposes such as education, homeownership, entrepreneurship, or retirement savings in adulthood. The idea built on child development accounts which were introduced in the 1990s, but baby bonds expanded use options and carried explicit aims to reduce wealth inequality.
We examined how public attitudes toward baby bonds changed from 2025 to 2026, using nationally representative data from the Cumulative Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-Being (CLIMB) study, supported by the de Beaumont Foundation and the Johns Hopkins University Nexus Award. We find that support increased substantially over the past year: In 2025, 67 percent of US adults supported creating an investment for children born into low-income households. By 2026, support had increased to 76 percent.
To help policymakers, advocates, and researchers understand the improving public perception of baby bonds, we look more closely at CLIMB data to see how support shifted across groups.
Support for baby bonds increased across the political spectrum
Support for baby bonds remained higher among Democrats than Republicans in both years, but the partisan gap narrowed considerably between survey waves. In 2025, 82 percent of Democrats supported the policy, compared with 48 percent of Republicans. By 2026, support among Democrats was 84 percent, while support among Republicans rose to 69 percent. Increases between 2025 and 2026 were significant for Republicans and Independents, but they were not significant for Democrats and other affiliations.
These results suggest that support for baby bonds may be broadening beyond the groups who have historically been most supportive. Rather than becoming more polarized, public opinion appears to be moving toward greater agreement on the potential value of helping children build assets early in life.
Support became more similar across income groups
In 2025, respondents with the lowest incomes ($0 to $44,999) were more likely to support baby bonds than all other respondents with higher incomes ($45,000 and above). But differences across the income distribution were relatively modest. By 2026, there was no significant difference in support between all income levels.
Households with low incomes have limited opportunities for upward mobility and would stand to gain the most from a wealth-building policy like baby bonds, so it would be understandable if support increased the most among this group. But, as the chart shows, support broadened across economic groups from 2025 to 2026, rather than remaining concentrated among lower-income households.
Although baby bonds are often discussed as a policy designed to address wealth disparities and expand opportunity for families with fewer resources, increasing support among higher-income respondents indicates the proposal may be appealing to a wider segment of the public.
New supporters of baby bonds are more likely to be young, Hispanic, and not homeowners
Because CLIMB follows many of the same respondents over time, the data allow us to examine not only current levels of support, but also which groups became more supportive over the past year.
Respondents who changed their views over time partly drove the overall increase in support for baby bonds. Among the 1,657 respondents who completed the survey in both 2025 and 2026, approximately 19 percent (317 respondents) moved from opposing baby bonds to supporting them. A smaller share (about 11 percent, or 177 respondents) moved from support to opposition.
To better understand these shifts, we examined which characteristics were associated with moving from opposition to support. We found that younger adults were more likely than older adults and Hispanic adults were more likely than white adults to change from opposing to supporting baby bonds. Also, people who don’t own a home were more likely than homeowners to make this transition.
Taken together, these findings indicate that attitudes toward baby bonds are not fixed. Although public discussions of baby bonds often occur within partisan debates, we see changes in support among a broad range of demographic groups.
Additional research could clarify why attitudes are shifting and which wealth-building policies have the most support
The CLIMB data identify who became more supportive of baby bonds from 2025 to 2026, but they can’t tell us why attitudes changed.
One possibility is that public awareness of children’s asset-building policies increased. From 2025 to 2026, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and the media devoted growing attention to proposals designed to help children build wealth over time. There are now baby bonds pilots around the country, more than 15 states that have introduced legislation, and state-run programs in Connecticut and California. There are also 129 active child savings account programs across the US, serving nearly 8 million children (PDF).
Discussions surrounding the rollout of 530A Trump accounts may have also increased familiarity with the idea of government-supported savings and investment accounts for children. But it’s important to note that the policy described in the CLIMB survey differs substantially from Trump accounts. Respondents were asked about an investment for children born into low-income households that children could only access for specific wealth-building purposes once they reach adulthood. So, the survey measures support for a policy more closely aligned with traditional baby bond proposals than universal child savings accounts or Section 530A accounts.
Additional research will be needed to better understand the factors driving changing attitudes toward baby bonds and other wealth-building policies. Still, as policymakers consider strategies for expanding economic opportunity and helping families build wealth, it’s important for them to know that public support for baby bonds appears broader and less polarized than commonly assumed.
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