The Emerging Millennial Wealth Gap (2024)

FAQs

What is the wealth gap between Millennials? ›

Even as the vast majority of millennials struggle with student debt, low-wage service-jobs, unaffordable housing and low savings, the millennial elite are surpassing previous generations. According to the study, the average millennial has 30% less wealth at the age of 35 than baby boomers did at the same age.

Millennials' wealth saw historic growth from 2019 to 2023, a new report says. Despite the pandemic recession, their wealth increased because of factors like a robust labor market. The wealth growth even likely affected lower-income millennials.

Coming of age in the shadow of the Great Recession, Millennials entered the job market during one of the worst economic downturns in decades, and now face mounting student loan debt, sky-high housing and healthcare costs, and increasingly precarious work environments.

What is a Millennial? Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996 – the name refers to the fact many came of age around the year 2000. This was a group that has witnessed social values change, many have suggested their lives have become easier than those of previous generations.

Wealthiest Generation: Baby Boomers

According to the Federal Reserve data, baby boomers – people born between the 1946 and 1964– win the top spot for the wealthiest generation in the U.S. In aggregate, their total net worth is $78.55 trillion.

Millennials were somewhat better off than Gen X—those born between 1965 and 1980—when they were the same age. Zoomers, however, are much better off than millennials were at the same age. The typical 25-year-old Gen Z-er has an annual household income of over $40,000, more than 50% above baby-boomers at the same age.

The price of everything, from a sack of flour to a winter coat, keeps climbing every year. Since 1970, the Consumer Price Index saw a 500%-plus increase. Even after adjusting for inflation, today's dollar buys a whole lot less than it did 50 or even 25 years ago.

Millennials embody a set of evolving values and aspirations that greatly influence their choices and behaviors. This generation highly values authority, achievement, and influence, demonstrating a strong desire for control, success, and recognition.

Some have hypothesized that the slow aging of a generation is thanks to the rising popularity of "tweakments" like filler and botox, or the fact that they have a better understanding of the importance of SPF for anti ageing, while others cite the well-analyzed idea that millennials have a sheer inability to "grow up."

Why are so many millennials in debt? ›

King said millennials' purchasing preferences and the soaring cost of living has led many into "a vicious cycle of taking on more debt." Many were "forced" to rely on credit cards and loans to meet their needs, adding to their "crippling debt pile."

There are many reasons for this, such as a shift away from pensions toward 401(k) plans and high student debt burdens. However, there are also reasons for optimism, such as advances in 401(k) plan design.

Like Boomers, Millennials are a huge generation that we sometimes split into two subgroups: Early Millennials (born 1980-1987) and Recessionists (born 1988-1995). The fairly obvious element that divides these two groups is life stage.

The term millennial (also known as Generation Y) refers to anyone born between 1981 and 1996, and Gen Z refers to anyone born from 1997 through 2012, according to the Pew Research Center. Along the blurry edge at the cusp of the two generations, between Gen Y and Z, is where zillennials live.

Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, according to the Pew Research Center . So as of 2023, the millennial age range is between 27 and 42. They were the first generation to grow up in the Internet Age but also remember life before social media.

As the saying goes, 'from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations. ' This means that wealth accumulated by one generation is often lost by the third generation.

Young members of Gen Z are struggling more financially today than Millennials did at their age 10 years ago, according to a new study published last week by the credit reporting agency TransUnion.

Millennials are set to inherit as much as $90 trillion in assets before 2044, a new report shows. Many millennials are currently grasping in frustration at long-held American Dreams like homeownership, a steady job and an affordable cost of living.