Veera Korhonen
Research expert covering United States data for society
Generation gap in the U.S. - statistics & facts
The past century has seen immense changes in technology, economics, and social structures within the United States. The effects of these changes can be seen in the growing generation gaps of the country's population. There are currently seven living generations that make up the U.S. population. They are: the Greatest Generation (born before 1928); the Silent Generation (born from 1928 to 1945); the Baby Boomer Generation (born from 1946 to 1964); Generation X (born from 1965 to 1980); the Millennials, which make up the largest portion of the population (born from 1981 to 1996); Generation Z (born from 1997 to 2012); and the current youngest generation known as Generation Alpha (born from 2013 to 2025). With such a large spread in age, these generations were all born into a different America from one another..
With the passage of time has come the steep increase in the prices in several areas. Higher education for example, has increased in price from just over 1,500 U.S. dollars a year per student for private universities in 1970, to over 34,000 in 2023. When the youth finish their education they are greeted by more debt than their predecessors ever had, with younger Americans found to delay significant financial decisions, such as saving for retirement or emergencies, as a result of their student debt. When those same individuals wish to buy a home, as their parents and grandparents did at that age, they see another area with drastic price hikes. With their high unemployment, lower income, high debt from education, and high housing costs, it is no wonder the Millennial and Gen Z population isn't saving their money to buy a home.
Wealth and age
Perhaps the greatest divide between the generations in the United States is the variation of their respective budgets. Younger citizens tend to see higher unemployment rates than their elders from other generations and experience higher rates of poverty than previous generations. Additionally, when those from the younger generations can find gainful employment, they tend to earn less money than those from an older age group. Of course, it can be argued that one tends to earn less money at a younger age as they have yet to obtain enough experience or complete their education. This however, leads to another issue driving a wedge between the generations and their comparative wealth.With the passage of time has come the steep increase in the prices in several areas. Higher education for example, has increased in price from just over 1,500 U.S. dollars a year per student for private universities in 1970, to over 34,000 in 2023. When the youth finish their education they are greeted by more debt than their predecessors ever had, with younger Americans found to delay significant financial decisions, such as saving for retirement or emergencies, as a result of their student debt. When those same individuals wish to buy a home, as their parents and grandparents did at that age, they see another area with drastic price hikes. With their high unemployment, lower income, high debt from education, and high housing costs, it is no wonder the Millennial and Gen Z population isn't saving their money to buy a home.
A difference of opinion
As mentioned above, the younger generations have reason to worry about their finances and their place in the economy. In fact, Gen Z and Millennials tend to worry about wages, unemployment, and housing costs more than the other generations. However, many Americans across all generations have expressed an economic concern with inflation. The generations of the U.S. may have a great variety of opinion on matters of economics and societal issues, such as same-sex marriage, but there are a few matters that citizens of all ages tend to agree on. While politics may be greatly debated between them, a general distrust of the government seems to be a bridge across the ever widening generational gap.
