Millennials are not all worse off than their baby boomer counterparts, a new study from the University of Cambridge found after analyzing major differences in the life trajectories and wealth accumulation of the generations in the U.S. However, a stark and growing wealth gap exists between the two groups.
Millennials are more likely to work in low-paying jobs and live with their parents, researchers found. But "those living more 'typical' middle-class lifestyles often have more wealth than their boomer parents did at the same age," the study, published in the American Journal of Sociology in September 2023, reported.
Lead author of the study, Dr. Rob Gruijters said the debate about whether millennials are worse off is a distraction. "The crucial intergenerational shift has been in how different family and career patterns are rewarded."
Here’s what else researchers discovered.
"This divergence in financial rewards is exacerbating extreme levels of wealth inequality in the United States," Gruijters said. "Individuals with typical working class careers, like truck drivers or hairdressers, used to be able to buy a home and build a modest level of assets, but this is more difficult for the younger generation.”
Gruijters said the solutions to addressing these wealth inequalities include progressive wealth taxation and policies like universal health insurance, giving more people security.
Baby boomers own 52.8% of all wealth in the U.S., compared to 5.7% of millennials, according to the Federal Reserve.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge, Humboldt University in Germany and the French research university Sciences Po analyzed work and family life trajectories of more than 6,000 baby boomers and 6,000 millennials in the U.S.
Researchers posed the following questions:
The study compared late baby boomers (born 1957-64) with early millennials (born 1980-84), using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.
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