How Would Americans Spend $1 million

Money makes the world go round, but what would the average American do if they won a million bucks?

Ask different people across the US what they would with this life-changing amount of money, and you are bound to get a different answer. Although you might be surprised to hear that 57% of Americans would invest something in crypto or stocks if they came into $1 million.

While 31% of Americans would use the money to move abroad, 39% of Americans would use their winnings to buy a house, and 14% of Americans would splash the cash on a spending spree that involved luxury holidays, watches, and partying. In the tech-influenced culture of 2025, investment in crypto or stocks is seen as one of the most popular ways to spend $1 million.

mBit Casino asked 2500 people from across America to reveal how they would spend $1 million.

The survey asked:

• Would you tell your friends or family if you won $1 million?
• What’s the first thing you would do if you came into $1 million?
• After your first purchase, what would you do next with the money?
• If you could relocate anywhere using the $1m, where would you go?

So how would spending habits change based on people’s age, gender, or the state that they live? It turns out that there are some big differences…

Key findings:

• 57% of Americans would invest in crypto or stocks if they won $1 million.
• Boomers are more likely to keep winning $1 million a secret. 58% wouldn’t even tell their friends or family.
• Louisiana emerged as the most charitable state, although only 2% of US Millennials would give to charity as their first purchase.
• 67% of men surveyed would invest money in crypto or stocks, compared to just 48% of women
• Women would be more likely to use $1 million winnings to leave the US, with 40% of women surveyed saying they would move abroad

Would you tell your friends or family if you won $1 million?

The mBit Casino survey found that Boomers are the least likely to blab if they bagged $1m. In fact, 58% of Boomers would keep their winnings completely secret, even from their friends and family.

Whereas Millennials are much more likely to welcome or offer other people their money if they won a million, as 48% of Millennials and Gen X would tell someone about their winnings.

Oklahoma also emerged as the most secretive state, with 75% of locals here saying they wouldn’t tell a soul if they won $1 million. Also feeling secretive were 73% of people from Idaho, 67% of people from West Virginia, and 65% of people from Kentucky.

On the flipside, people from Utah (73%) were the most likely to tell their friends and family if they won $1 million, while people from Oregon (68%) and Louisiana (66%) are also more likely to let people know about their winnings.

Women are also way more likely to keep winning $1 million a secret. 57% of females would deal with the winnings by keeping their lips sealed, compared to 43% of males.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you came into $1 million

In 2022, the Guardian reported that 42% of US Millennials own their own home. However, only 33% of Millennials would buy a house as their first purchase if they won $1 million. That’s compared to 37% of Boomers, but just 25% of Gen X.

However, buying a house was the top priority across generations, while paying off a mortgage was also the second-most important first purchase across generations.

Boomers were also the most charitable generation, with 13% making a generous donation before anything else. Whereas only 2% of Millennials would deposit to a charity as their first action after winning $1 million.

Some states were more charitable than others too, with 22% of people from Louisiana saying they would give most of their $1 million to charity, followed by North Carolina at 13%.

The survey showed that men were more likely than women to reward themselves a luxury purchases first, such as buying a new car, an expensive watch or jewellery, or going on a lavish holiday.

Although, women would be more likely to splash out on a party with friends before doing anything else.

After your first purchase you would

After making that first big purchase, the survey found that most Americans would invest their money rather than continue to spend it. In fact, the statistics show that 57% of people of people would choose to invest in crypto or stocks. It is seen as a more popular way of spending money than simply saving it or spending it on other things.

Crypto is fast becoming seen as a great way to invest money. Particularly amongst Millennials, as 60% of them would invest their winnings in crypto or stocks compared to 51% of Gen X and just 46% of Boomers.

However, across each generation, most people would invest in crypto or stocks before saving their money or carrying on spending until it’s gone. Just 29% of Millennials would save their winnings, while as few as 6.5% of Gen X would continue to splash the cash until the money runs dry.

Men are also much more likely to invest in crypto, with 67% of males seeing crypto or stocks as a smart investment, compared to 48% of females.

Meanwhile, the mBit Casino survey found that people from Utah (88%), Massachusetts (80%), Delaware (80%), and Wisconsin (72%) showed the biggest interest.

Women are also more likely to save their money, 42% compared to just 24% of men. Although, women would also be more likely than men to shop until they run out, with 9.5% taking this route, compared to 9% of men.

If you could relocate anywhere with $1m, where would you go?

Even landing $1 million would not be enough to make most Americans leave the USA behind, as the survey found that 61% of people would either stay put where they are, or move to a different state.

However, there are still many Americans that would use their money to make a quick getaway. 39% of the people surveyed would choose to join the 5.5 million Americans who the AARO estimates are living abroad.

Europe is the most popular destination for those looking to flee the States, with 17.2% of people wanting to relocate here. Meanwhile, 7.3% of people would want to live to Australia or New Zealand, and 5.7% of Americans would emigrate to somewhere in Asia.

The survey also showed that men who won $1 million are more likely to stay in the US, but women would be more likely to move overseas. In fact, 40% of women surveyed said that they would move to another country if they came into enough money, compared to just 37% of men.

Surprisingly, women who are parents would be even more likely to slot into life in another country. 46% of female parents would move overseas with their $1m, compared to 34% of male parents.

Methodology

To uncover spending habits across the United States, we conducted a nationwide survey of 2,500 respondents in October 2025 in collaboration with OnePulse.

The survey captured insights into honesty of Americans if they were to win such a large sum of money, along with what they’d spend the money on, and whether they’d choose to re-locate.

The survey is nationally representative of age (21+), gender and state across the US, ensuring diverse geographic representation and a comprehensive understanding of spending habits across different generations.

To analyze the data, we grouped responses by age group, generation (Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial), gender and location at state level.  

Demographics

The survey respondents included 53% females, 47% males. The average age of the respondents was 37 years. Respondents were also grouped by parent, with 59% stating that they had children.