The two largest demographics, born 20 years apart, have more in common than one might think. A report by Pew Research Center compared behaviors of millennials between the ages of 22 and 37, to those of prior generations at the same age.
[Related: Mile-high millennials—What the next generation of homebuyers means for builders]
Education. Although millennials as a group tend to be more educated—39% of millennials have at least a bachelor’s degree, compared to about a quarter of boomers—similar percentages pursued an associate’s degree or attended college without earning a degree.
Work ethic. Much has been made of millennials’ failure to launch as a symptom of inherent laziness, but Pew data show they work just as much as boomers. Between ages 22 and 37, two-thirds of boomer women and 86% of boomer men were working, according to the report. In the same age band, 72% of millennial women and 83% of millennial men were employed.
Homeownership. Pew found 15% of millennials lived in their parents’ home at some point between the ages of 25 and 37, compared with 8% of boomers who lived with their parents at the same age.
Millennials are working to change that, though. The National Association of Realtors found 36% of new homes purchased in 2018 were bought by millennials, compared to roughly 16% of boomers
Family. Without a doubt, the biggest difference between boomers and millennials is family creation. Just 46% of millennials are married, compared with roughly two-thirds of boomers. A similar percentage of millennial women are mothers—48%—compared with 58% of boomer women.
Danielle Andrus was previously the managing editor for Colorado Builder, and is currently Editor for the Journal of Financial Planning.
