Millennial Income Statistics (2023): 100+ Financial Stats (2024)

Are millennials hardworking imaginative entrepreneurs or are they the opposite? Let’s find out what the statistics tell us. 🧮

Millennials are a bit of a mystery – this disruptive generation is at the cutting edge of societal change, and wherever they go, controversy seems to follow. We’ve all seen dozens of headlines accusing millennials of killing one or another industry^{1CBInsights, “14 Industries Experts Say Millennials Are Killing — And Why They’re Wrong”, accessed November 14, 2020.} – and just as many pointing out how they seem to be poorly adjusted to living in the real world.

Is it really that simple? Of course not – it never is. The truth is that millennials are different – but this isn’t just a generational gap in understanding.

Millennials entered adulthood in a time of rapid change and found a world that was evolving way too fast for anyone to make sense of. Economic crises, a tough job market, and a wide array of economic issues underpin all the specific “millennial traits”.

That’s why it’s important to look at data. Cold hard facts can make sense of millennials – but finding them can be a bit tricky. Thankfully, we’ve done the heavy lifting – these statistics can help you make sense of America’s largest and most diverse generation.

Overview of Millennial Income and Debt 👓

Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S, numbering 72.1 million people. Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a millennial – although there is some debate regarding this. They’re the most diverse generation so far – although Gen Z is on track to be even more diverse.^{2Pew Research Center, “How Millennials Compare to Prior Generations”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

The average millennial makes $47,034 and has a net worth of less than $8,000.^{3CNBC, “Nearly 1 in 4 millennials report having $100,000 or more in savings”, accessed November 14, 2020.} What they do have is debt- and lots of it, as the average Millennial has $78,396 in consumer debt.^{4Experian, “2019 Consumer Debt Study”, accessed November 12, 2020.} And although their individual net worth might be quite low, collectively, millennials have a net worth of $5.19 trillion.^{5The Fed, “Distributional Financial Accounts”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

Student loan debts are the defining problem of this generation – with the average millennial owing $37,172 in student loan debts.^{6Debt.org, “Students & Debt”, accessed November 12, 2020.} The data shows that most of them will take 20 years to repay these loans – but 54% are concerned that they won’t be able to do this.^{7PWC, “Millennials and Financial Literacy”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

Millennials start saving early – as young as 24 years old. Almost one-third of them budget, but almost half say that they feel stressed about not putting away enough money. Half of them doubt that they could come up with $2,000 for an unexpected expense.^{8Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

They’re also quite wary of the stock market – and seem to prefer keeping their investments in cash. Not to throw too much shade, but financial literacy among millennials isn’t exactly stellar (and the data supports this claim).^{9WSJ, “Millennials and Financial Literacy”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

But in spite of all of that, they’re the most educated generation thus far – and their earnings don’t look too bad when contrasted to previous generations at their age.

So, what’s the deal? It might all seem pretty contradictory – but that’s why we need to do a deep dive into the financial statistics regarding millennials.

Definition of Millennials 🤓

Millennials are a hot-button topic in the news – whether it’s the latest trends and crazes or yet another industry that’s struggling to earn the patronage of this new generation, millennials seem to be all over the news.

But what are millennials, exactly? This isn’t just some random term that can be used synonymously with young people – Millennials are the generation of people born from 1981 to 1996.

Millennials saw the widespread adoption of the internet, social media, and mobile devices in their youth.

It is important, however, to make a distinction here – between Old Millennials and so-called Young Millennials. Old Millennials were born prior to 1988, and this subset of people doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of millennials all the way through.

In fact, most sources don’t even follow this generational divide when conducting research – meaning that most of the information available fits the bill for those aged 18-34.

Millennial Population Worldwide 😎

According to information from the United States Census Bureau, millennials are the largest generation in the US, numbering 72.1 million people. Millennials have even overtaken Baby Boomers, who number 71.6 million.

The total number of Millennials in the United States is projected to peak in 2033 at an estimated 74.9 million people – mostly due to immigration. As of right now, Millennials make up almost a quarter of the US population.^{10Pew Research Center, “Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

On top of that, Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force – with 35% of the entire U.S. workforce belonging to this generation.^{11Pew Research Center, “Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

Globally, there are about 1.8 billion millennials, and they comprise roughly 23% of the world’s population.^{12MSCI, “Millennials Demographic Change and the Impact of a Generation”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Average Millennial Salary📊

The average Millennial salary is about $47,034, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.^{13CNBC, Nearly 1 in 4 millennials report having $100,000 or more in savings, accessed November 14, 2020.}

The average Millennial household makes $69,000 a year, according to the Pew Research Center. This isn’t a wide departure from previous generations – but once you factor in inflation and the amount of debt millennials have, it becomes apparent that this generation is actually worse off than their predecessors.^{14Pew Research Center, “Young adult households are earning more than most older Americans did at the same age”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Millennial Debt to Income Ratio 📉

Millennials have the highest income to debt ratio – with young millennials having an average DTI of 37.5, and older millennials having an average DTI of 36.7.^{15CoreLogic, “Millennial Homebuyers Are Not All the Same”, November 14, 2020.}

Millennial Engagement, Turnover, and Expectations in the Workforce 📈

Only 29% of employed millennials feel engaged at work – and a whopping 16% feel actively disengaged, according to research from Gallup. Millennials are also much more likely to change jobs than previous generations – with 21% of millennials changing jobs within the last year. Up to 60% are open to different job opportunities.^{16Gallup, “How Millennials Want to Work and Live”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Millennial turnover costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion each year.^{17Gallup,“How Millennials Want to Work and Live”, accessed November 14, 2020.} 54% of millennials expect to have between 2 and 5 employers during their careers. They also rank training and development as their biggest priority when looking for an employer (22), closely followed by flexible working hours (19%) and cash bonuses (14%).

Millennials also seem to be a bit pickier with regard to where they would work. When it comes to sectors that they wouldn’t want to work on solely based on their image, 14% said oil and gas, 12% said defense and insurance, and 11% chose the chemical industry and government and public service.^{18PWC, “Millennials at Work”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

While older millennials work a diverse set of jobs across various industries, mostly depending on geography, younger millennials predominantly find employment in services industries, such as leisure and hospitality or retail.^{19IssueLab, “Where Do Young Adults Work”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Millennial Income vs. Gen Z Income ⚔️

Generation Z has also seen a mounting amount of debt in the past couple of years – although not as bad as Millennials. In 2015, the average amount of debt held by members of Gen Z was $7,866. Now, five years later, that figure is $9,593 – an increase of 22%. These figures will only climb as more and more members of Gen Z enter higher education.

When it comes to credit cards, the average credit card debt among Gen Z is $2,230. – about a third more than the average Millennial debt at that age.^{20Experian, “2019 Consumer Debt Study”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Approximately 41% of Gen Z who are eligible for a credit card already own one – compared to 34% of Millennials at that age.^{21American Banker, “Gen Z is racking up card debt after era of tightwad millennials”, accessed November 14, 2020.} Members of Gen Z have slightly better credit scores – with an average of 698, compared to 667 for Millennials.^{22Experian, “Millennials’ Student Loan Debt Continues to Rise”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

In general, Gen Z seems to be quite a bit less averse to credit cards – and these already surprising numbers will only increase as more and more members of Gen Z become eligible for credit cards.

When it comes to student loans, Gen Z owes, on average, $12,523 as of 2019. This is much less than the Millennial average of $34,504 – but those numbers are sure to change as more members of Gen Z enter into higher education and as time, and interest rates, pile on.

On top of that, Gen Z saw the highest increase in student loan debt when comparing information from 2018 and 2019 – an increase of 9%, just barely above Millennials, who saw an increase of 8%.^{23Experian, “Millennials’ Student Loan Debt Continues to Rise”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Millennial Net Worth 🏛️

Millennials have a collective net worth of $5.19 trillion, as of the second quarter of 2020, according to the Federal Reserve. However, to put that into perspective, even though $5.19 trillion might sound like a lot, it only amounts to 4.6% of the total wealth in the US.^{24The Fed, “Distributional Financial Accounts”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

The net worth of an average millennial is less than $8,000.^{25Business Insider, “Meet the average American millennial, who has an $8,000 net worth”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Millennials and Savings💰

In a surprising twist, Millennials are much more likely to budget than Boomers – with research from TD Ameritrade showing that 8 out of 10 Millennials budget, while only 6 out of 10 Baby Boomers do.^{26TD Ameritrade, “Millennials and Money Research”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

On average, millennials start saving at 24 – which is quite a lot earlier than previous generations. For comparison, the average member of Gen X started saving at 30 – and the average baby boomer started saving at 33. Millennials are also showing some positive signs when it comes to budgeting – with 31% saying they plan a budget, and 34% of those that do plan a budget say they always stick to it.^{27Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

In a Bank of America survey, when asked what they would do with a $10,000 windfall, 40% said that they would use it to pay down debt. The same survey also suggests that millennials are very willing to make sacrifices to stay on track – with 70% saying they would be ready to cut back on dining out, and 44% saying that they would take on a side job if needed.

Despite all of this, 44% of millennials say they feel stressed about not saving enough.^{28Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

💡 Did you know: Some millennials are turning towards investment apps like Acorns which round up transactions and “invest spare change”. The app is especially useful for those with difficulty saving.

Do Millennials Prefer Saving Over Investing? 💸

Yes – research from TD Ameritrade has shown that up to 77% of Millennials would rather put a $1,000 windfall into a savings account rather than investing it in the stock market.^{29TD Ameritrade, “Millennials and Money Research”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Millennials are much more likely to save than to invest. In fact, 43% of millennials aren’t investing at all.^{30Yahoo Finance, “43% of Millennials Aren’t Investing – and That’s a Problem”, accessed November 13, 2020.} However, a survey from Bank America suggests that 28% of Millennials that have savings are investing in the market – which is a good sign, once you factor in the amount of debt that Millennials have on average.^{31Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

How Much Money Do Millennials Save? 💵

The average Millennial saves $315 a month, according to TD Ameritrade.

A survey from Bank of America suggests that 48% of Millennials manage to set aside some money to save each month.^{32Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

The biggest goal is retirement – with 75% of millennials saving towards this goal. This is followed by:

• ☑️ Emergency funds (51%)
• ☑️ Travel (42%)
• ☑️ Homeownership (32%)
• ☑️ Education for their children (27%) ^{33Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

According to surveys conducted by Insider and Morning Consult, 58% of millennials have less than $5,000 in savings. Data from Bank of America’s Millennial Report suggests that only 24% of millennials have $100,000 or more in savings.^{34Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

The statistics are worrying in this regard. Almost 37% of millennials don’t think that they could find money to cover an unexpected expense of $2,000.^{35TIAA, “Millennials and Money”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

Millennial Investing 💳

Millennials are the most likely generation to contribute to a Roth Ira – 15% do so, up from 10% just 10 years ago.^{36Fidelity, “Building Financial Futures”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Just 27% of millennials have used professional financial advice for savings in investments in the last five years, and only 12% had sought professional help for debt management.^{37PWC, “Millennials and Financial Literacy”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

As the most socially and environmentally aware generation to date, it comes as no surprise that millennials are driving interest toward socially-responsible investing.

Research suggests that 87% of millennials think that “the success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just its financial performance.^{38Fidelity Charitable, “Impact Investing: At a Tipping Point?”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

74% of millennials want to learn more about investing.^{39Vanguard, “Markets may be volatile, but millennials’ investing goals are steadier than ever”, accessed November 14, 2020.} 51% of millennial investors report that their risk tolerance has increased since the outbreak of the pandemic.30% report trading more equities since the beginning of the pandemic, and 22% report trading more derivatives during the same time period.^{40ETrade, “E*Trade Financial Q4 2020 Streetwise Report”, November 14, 2020.}

55% of millennials check their portfolio at least once a day, and three out of four use an investing app at least once a week. Unsurprisingly, the top stock trading apps are big with millennials – with 87% stating that they look for mobile apps that can rival a website experience.

Nearly two out of three millennials are forced to make early withdrawals from retirement accounts – and 79% of them regret it.^{41ETrade, “E*Trade Financial Q4 2020 Streetwise Report”, November 14, 2020.}

Do Millennials Invest for Retirement? 💵

Yes – in fact, 45% of Millennials have a retirement account, and 33% are actively contributing to their accounts.^{42Business Insider, “Number of Millennials Saving for Retirement Nearly Surpasses Gen X”, accessed November 14, 2020.} This shows a positive trend when compared to the more established Gen X – who, despite having a number of years of advantage, don’t seem to show much better statistics.

However, 47% of millennials are concerned that they will not be able to retire when they want to. Only 55% of millennials are eligible to participate in employer-sponsored retirement plants – a large drop when compared to Gen X (77%) and baby boomers (80%).

While 55% of millennials are eligible to participate in such plans, not all of them do. In fact, only 34.3% actually participate.^{43NIRS, “Millennials and Retirement”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Millennial Debt🏦

The average Millennial has $78,396 in consumer debt as of 2019 according to Experian’s 2019 consumer debt study.

This presents a sharp increase from 2015 when the average Millennial debt amounted to $49,722 – which means the average debt increased by a whopping 58% in just a few years.^{44Experian, “2019 Consumer Debt Study”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

Although there is no concrete data on how many Millennials are debt-free, surveys undertaken by major news networks suggest that the number might be somewhere around 22%.^{45NBC News, “Poll: Majority of millennials are in debt, hitting pause on major life events”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Millennial Student Debt 👨‍🎓

According to Debt.org, the average student debt in 2017 totaled $37,172.^{46Debt.org, “Students & Debt”, accessed November 12, 2020.}

In total, Millennials carry around $622 billion in student loan debt.^{47Business Insider, “Meet the average American millennial, who has an $8,000 net worth”, accessed November 14, 2020.} Nearly 45% of Millennials have student loan debt.^{48New America, “Millennials and Student Loans: Rising Debts and Disparities”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

The average Millennial will spend about 20 years to pay off their student loans – but this can vary quite a bit depending on the degree of choice – the average medical school debt in the U.S. is $241,600, for example.^{49EducationData.org, “Average Medical School Debt”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

When looking across the board, the average monthly student loan payment totals $393.^{50EducationData, “Average Student Loan Payment”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Up to 54% of millennials are concerned that they won’t be able to repay their student loan debts.^{51PWC, “Millennials and Financial Literacy”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

What Causes Millennial Debt? 🤔

More than 76% of Millennials carry some kind of debt – and that’s excluding student loans and credit card debt.^{52Bank of America, “Winter 2020 Millennial Report”, accessed November 13, 2020.}

So, what are the percentages regarding Millennial debt?

According to Bankrate’s 2020 Millennial Report, Millennial debt (excluding student loans) breaks down like this:

• ☑️ 40% have to contend with auto loans
• ☑️ 37% are dealing with credit card debt
• ☑️ 36% are paying off mortgages
• ☑️ 12% have personal loans
• ☑️ 11% carry medical debt

Credit Card Debt for Millennials 🪙

Although it is commonly thought that Millennials are much more averse to credit cards when compared to their predecessors, that might not be entirely true. Research from Experian shows that Millennials, on average, have 3.2 credit cards – which is an increase from five years ago.

Not only are Millennials increasingly turning to credit cards, but the average amount of debt carried by this generation is also increasing. The average credit card debt for Millennials amounted to $4,889 in 2019 – which is an increase of 39.7% when compared to 2015.^{53Experian, “Millennials vs Baby Boomers: Who Has More Credit Cards?”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

A large number of Millennials, 25% to be exact, cite credit card bills as their main source of debt. And that isn’t all. A worrying proportion of Millennials – a whole 22% reported not knowing their interest rates in Northwestern Mutual’s 2019 Planning & Progress Study.^{54Northwestern Mutual, “Planning and Progress Study 2019”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Millennials also have subpar credit scores – with the average being 668 in Q2 2019 – a full 35 points below the national average, according to research from Experian.^{55Experian, “Millennial Credit Scores Lag Behind Other Generations, Despite Highest Growth”, accessed November 15, 2020.}

This mirrors a wider issue – financial literacy among Millennials. According to our own survey featuring more than 6,000 participants, only 24% of millennials possess basic financial knowledge. And only 8% show high financial literacy. It’s no wonder that most millennials are unfamiliar with feasible ways to build credit.

What Are the Most Common Millennial Expenses? 🧠

There are a couple of main suspects, however, there is one that comes up more than others – renting.

Percentage of Millennials Who Rent 💴

According to a survey by Apartment List, 57% of millennials are renters.^{56Apartment List, “Homeownership Rates by Generation: How Do Millennials Stack Up?”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

However, it isn’t quite so simple – you have to remember that millennials consist of people born between 1981 and 1996 – quite a wide span.

If we divide millennials into a couple of smaller age groups, we can notice significant differences as to how many of them are renters. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis suggests that up to 77.1% of people under the age of 25 are renters.^{57Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Millennials and Gen Z Are Not Doomed to Rent Forever”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

How Many Millennials Live at Home? 🏠

Before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, about 47% of millennials lived with one or both of their parents. According to the Pew Research Center, that number has climbed to 52%.^{58Pew Research Center, “A majority of young adults in the U.S. live with their parents for the first time since the Great Depression”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

This is a record-breaking number – the previous high point being 1940 when 48% of young adults lived at home with their parents.

Although the Coronavirus pandemic has surely exacerbated this issue, it isn’t likely to go away any time soon – the underlying issues of high rents, low wages, and student debt won’t go away with the virus.

The homeownership percentage of Millennials is currently 43% percent.^{59Apartment List, “Homeownership Rates by Generation: How Do Millennials Stack Up?”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Millennial Spending Habits 💶

A survey conducted by Bank of America shows that Millennials, on average, spend their monthly income thusly:

• ☑️ 26% of their income goes to rent and mortgage payments
• ☑️ 19% is used to cover bills
• ☑️ 13% covers miscellaneous expenses, such as charity
• ☑️ 11% goes toward groceries
• ☑️ 10% goes toward transportation or vehicle costs
• ☑️ 7% is allocated for retirement
• ☑️ 6% is spent on dining out
• ☑️ 5% is set aside for emergencies
• ☑️ 3% is set aside for medical costs

Unsurprisingly, Millennials tend to spend more money on experiences when compared to other generations. Everbite’s research, conducted by Harris, suggests that 78% of Millennials would rather spend money on an experience or event than on purchasing something desirable.^{60Lawton Fort Sill, https://lawtonfortsillchamber.com/clientuploads/Publications/Gen_PR_Final.pdf, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Along with that, 55% of those that were interviewed said that they’re spending more than they ever have on experiences, with a whole 72% saying that they would like to further increase their spending in this area.^{61Lawton Fort Sill, “Millennials: Fueling the Experience Economy”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

According to the Alcohol Expenditure Survey that was commissioned by TD Ameritrade in January of 2020, the average Millennial spends over $300 each month on alcohol.^{62TD Ameritrade, “Alcohol Expenditure Survey”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

A Nielsen survey from 2018 showed that 61% of millennials purchased fast-moving consumer goods online in the preceding three-month period.^{63Nielsen, “Millennials on Millennials: Shopping Insights Report”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

A report from 2015 suggests that the average millennial spends $750 on media content annually. We haven’t been able to find any newer data – but we reckon that the recent pandemic has only driven that number up.^{64Deloitte, “The ‘Generation That Won’t Spend’ is Spending a Lot on Media Content“, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Spending Power of Millennials 🤲

Although they are saddled with debt, the fact that they are the largest generation in the United States means that, collectively, Millennials possess quite a lot of spending power.

In fact, Millennials are projected to spend $1.4 trillion in 2020, according to 5WPR’s 2020 Consumer Culture Report.^{655W Public Relations, “5WPR 2020 Consumer Culture Report”, accessed November 14, 2020.}

Conclusion 🏁

Understanding these statistics is key to getting a good grasp on the current goings-on of the workforce. If you’re an employer, having the relevant facts regarding the biggest generation in the U.S. is invaluable – and if you’re a millennial yourself, this data can help you make sense of your own predicaments.

The future is still uncertain for millennials. Some trends can be observed, but we do live in interesting times. Hopefully, some of the data collated here will help you better understand where millennials – and the economy as a whole, might be going.

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