Millennials have often been viewed as facing tougher financial challenges compared to their Gen X and baby boomer predecessors, grappling with rising living costs, the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, and the impact of COVID-19. However, new analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor and Federal Reserve data challenges that narrative.
A study by LendingTree shows that millennials aged 26 to 41 in 2022 had a median net worth of $84,941—8.4% higher than Gen Xers at the same age in 2007 and 46% higher than boomers in 1989, after adjusting for inflation.
In terms of assets, 99.3% of millennials owned assets (cash, property, or investments) in 2022, compared to 97.5% of Gen Xers and 93.8% of boomers at similar life stages.
Millennials’ median assets were valued at $219,200, close to Gen X’s $246,991 and significantly higher than boomers’ $124,963, based on Federal Reserve data.
Despite higher spending—$67,883 annually compared to boomers’ $63,761—millennials’ expenditures represent a smaller share of their income.
In 2022, millennials spent 75.8% of their pretax income, compared to 83.2% for Gen X and 91% for boomers, signaling a more conservative financial approach.
“Scars from the Great Recession and pandemic”
The combination of considerable assets and high net worth tells Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst at LendingTree, a lot about how millennials view financial health: “I think that the scars from the Great Recession and the pandemic have helped shape millennials’ views on money, forcing them to be more focused on their finances than other generations have had to be.
“That focus has prompted them to learn more about money, get started with investing and savings earlier, become more entrepreneurial, and make other financially focused moves that have helped set them up for success. It’s certainly helped that we’ve seen stocks hit record highs.”
The author of Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More continued: “[Millennials] try to save when they can. They try to invest when they can. They’re not spending a ton of money on frivolous things to impress their friends.
“Unfortunately, some of this is fear-driven. Many millennials have lost jobs multiple times over the years and haven’t forgotten. They want to do everything they can to protect themselves should that happen again.”
Ready for the Great Wealth Transfer
Economists can’t quite agree on whether millennials can expect their wealth to grow even further courtesy of the so-called Great Wealth Transfer.
According to property broker Knight Frank’s 2024 Wealth Report released earlier this year, over the next 20 years, $90 trillion in assets will be transferred between generations in the U.S. alone.
According to Knight Frank, this shift will make affluent millennials “the richest generation in history.”
However, expectations of a windfall for millennials—a seemingly independent and relatively affluent generation—might have been overstated.
That’s because boomers and Gen Xers aren’t actually planning on handing over all their assets to their young relatives, instead using the wealth to live on as the population ages.
A Northwestern Mutual Harris Poll survey of more than 4,500 U.S. adults this summer found that while 32% of millennials and 38% of Gen Zers are banking on inheritance, only 22% of Gen Xers and boomers are setting out their stall to leave one behind.