Which generation has it the hardest financially?
Gen Zers are having a harder time making ends meet, let alone building wealth. Roughly 38% of Generation Z adults and millennials believe they face more difficulty feeling financially secure than their parents did at the same age, largely due to the economy, according to a recent Bankrate report.
Gen Z faces unique financial challenges compared to older generations. College graduates earn 10% less compared to their parents, recent research found.
Millennials stand to become the richest generation in history, after $90 trillion wealth transfer | CNN Business.
Aligning on money is all the more pressing for younger generations, who are earlier on in their relationships and careers—nearly half (49%) of Gen Zers view financial compatibility as more important than physical compatibility. That's compared to 40% of millennials, 35% of Gen Xers, and 30% of baby boomers.
She says Gen Z faces more challenges in some ways than previous generations. “There's a growth in inequality in the transition to adulthood. There's a lot of changes in culture and norms, insecurity more generally, in terms of climate change and the war and school shootings and rapid inflation.
Generation Z
Thus, those in Gen Z are currently between the ages of about 11 and 26. As might be expected due to their relatively young ages, data shows that Generation Z demonstrates the lowest level of financial literacy among Gen Z, Gen X, boomers and millennials.
Comparatively, the generation with the least debt — Gen Zers (ages 18 to 26) — owes less than half as much, with an average balance of $21,665.
As one of the most philanthropic generations, Baby Boomers have had a considerable impact on the charitable sector. Having lived through significant historical events, many Boomers feel a sense of responsibility to give back to society.
Gen Zers face greater obstacles to financial success
Inflation's recent runup has indeed made it harder for those just starting out. More than half, or 53%, of Gen Zers say higher costs are a barrier to their financial success, according to a separate survey from Bank of America.
The average 64-75-year-old American is 94% wealthier than the average 35-year-old. Today's 40-year-olds own half the wealth of older generations when they were the same age. Baby boomers owned 33% more real estate than Generation X at the same age. Baby boomers are collectively 10 times wealthier than millennials.
Are Gen Z or millennials smarter?
As societal trends continue to evolve, the narrative surrounding generational intelligence unfolds with fresh perspectives. A growing discourse suggests that Generation Z (Gen Z) is endowed with higher cognitive abilities compared to their predecessors, the Millennials.
Many of the theories online veer into the conspiratorial: One woman suggested that Gen Z looks older because the quality of food is getting worse, which results in faster wrinkles; another claimed that it's because food is getting better, and because millennials ate food with more preservatives in it than Gen Z, ...
Does Gen Z struggle more with mental health than millennials? New polling shows signs of a shift. Compared with older generations today, members of Gen Z are much more likely to report experiencing negative emotions such as stress, anxiety and loneliness, according to a new study.
Baby boomers have the largest net worth
Baby boomers own 52.8% of all wealth in the U.S., compared to 5.7% of millennials, according to the Federal Reserve.
The highest average American net worth belongs to those aged 65 to 74 at $1,794,600. Americans 55 to 64 years old have the second-highest average net worth at $1,566,900.
A gigantic wealth transfer over roughly the next decade will likely make millennials "the richest generation in history," according to a report from global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Gen Z on track to be the best-educated generation yet
A look at older members of Generation Z suggests they are on a somewhat different educational trajectory than the generations that came before them.
According to our research, millennials are the most educated generation in American history. Approximately 38 percent of millennials have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 32 percent of Generation X and 15 percent of baby boomers when they were the same age.
Sandwiched between the much larger Baby Boomer and Millennial generations, the members of Generation X (those born between 1965-1980) have variously been called the “middle child generation,” the “slacker generation,” the “MTV generation,” the “latchkey generation,” and “the least parented, least nurtured generation in ...
Generation X has the most credit card debt among Americans. See where the other generations fall and who owes the least. If you're struggling to pay off credit card debt, you are far from alone: One in three Americans have more credit card debt than savings both in 2023 and 2024, a Bankrate survey shows.
What age group is most in debt?
Gen X (ages 43 to 58) not only carries the most debt on average of all the generations, but is also the debt leader in credit card and total non-mortgage debt.
Baby boomers are by far one of the wealthiest generations the world has ever seen. The fact that there are more than 70 million people in this demographic helps but it's also true that this is one of the luckiest generations in history when it comes to returns on financial assets.
Generation X. Some believe Generation X will be regarded as the greatest generation of all time - we think it's certainly the coolest. Generation X was born between 1965 and 1980, arriving just in time to see the world turn from black & white to colour.
Younger generations often enjoy good physical health and have excitement and anticipation for the future. People in older generations have often gained wisdom and perspective, while those in the middle typically have more financial stability and could enjoy the best of both worlds.
But on many fronts, Millennials are struggling. Incarceration rates among Millennial young adults are dramatically higher than they were when members of the Silent Generation and Baby Boom were the same age. The federal minimum wage hasn't risen since 2009, but inflation and cost of living have.
