A major part of American belief is that each generation should do a bit better than the preceding one. The Census Bureau released data this past week showing that on several measures, millennials are well behind the preceding generation. The Census Bureau compared today’s 30-year-olds with 30-year-olds of 1975, revealing that millennials are less likely to have reached many of the milestones of adulthood than their 1975 counterparts. In 1975, 75% of 30-year-olds had married, had a child, were not enrolled in school, and had lived on their own. In 2015, just 33% could make that claim. In addition, a survey by Washington D.C.-based think tank Pew Research Center showed that living with parents is now “the most common young adult living arrangement for the first time on record” and that millennials are less likely to be married by the time they are 34 than any previous generation. One possible major cause for the delay in reaching these milestones may be student loan payments. In a survey from bankrate.com, more than 56% of millennials said they have delayed a major life event because of their student loan debt. The following chart, from marketwatch.com, details these “milestone” discrepancies.
More 30-year-olds haven't hit major adult milestones
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January 03, 2017