An older man helping a young girl play pool. “Girl Playing Pool” by Rene Terp is licensed under is licensed under CC BY 2.0 under Pexels License.

Wealth distribution in the US has been a widely debated topic, often focusing on the differences between generations or between the richest and the poorest. Two generations that have appeared the most in these debates are Baby Boomers and Millennials, with Baby Boomers being considered wealthier than Millennials. But is this really true?

Rob Gruijters, Zachary Van Winkle, and Anette Eva Fasang found in their recent study that although less wealthy Baby Boomers fared better than Millennials when they were at the same period in life, the wealthiest Millennials are actually better off than Baby Boomers were. Using national longitudinal data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, they compared life trajectories for 6000 late Baby Boomers (born 1957-1964) with those of 6000 early Millennials (1980-84). Specifically, they looked at their young adult years, ages 18-35, and their changes in their work and wealth in these challenging years. 

One of the most common ways of assessing wealth is home ownership. The researchers found that 62% percent of Boomers owned homes at the age of 35, but only 49% of Millennials did. A potential reason why is the amount of debt (e.g., the rising costs of college) with 14% of Millennials having more debt than assets, as compared to 8.7% of Boomers. In addition to rising costs and larger debts, only 7.3% of Millennials entered high-status jobs (such as law and medicine) after college, as compared to 17% of Baby Boomers, instead entering other professional roles like social work and teaching or in service and retail sector jobs. Alongside different job trajectories, Baby Boomers also tended to marry at a younger age – all of which impact the ability to purchase a home.

As a result, when Millennials and Baby Boomers were hypothetically at the same age, the wealthiest Millennials, who ended up with middle-class life trajectories (college education, graduate level jobs, and started families later on) had more wealth than the wealthiest Baby Boomers. The poorest Millennials, who had working-class careers, had less wealth than the poorest Baby Boomers, and sometimes even had negative wealthThe poorest Millennials, who had working-class careers, had less wealth than the poorest Baby Boomers, and sometimes even had negative wealth, which was less common among Boomers. 

The circumstances that the Baby Boomers and Millennials grew up in have led to different life trajectories for people on the highest and lowest financial extremes. As costs of living grow increasingly higher, from daily needs like groceries to housing stability and ownership, the impacts of this wealth disparity will have further disproportionate consequences for people who are the most vulnerable.