What Age Range Are Millennials And What Does It Mean?

The general consensus agrees that the age range of Millennials are individuals that were born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. This age range is often debated and sometimes reported to being between 1981 and 1996.

I speak about Millennials quite a bit in this blog. That’s probably because I’m part of this generation. Millennials are now roughly 30 to 45 years old, and we make up the biggest chunk of the workforce.

This means that Millennials have a huge impact on the economy, consumerism, and trends. They are now the “current generation”, so to speak.

So let’s take a closer look at what the age range of Millennials are, and what it all needs to be a millennial.

The millennial generation

For this article to remain consistent and to make these analytics meaningful, we will use the general consensus. Generally, the age range of Millennials is those born between 1981 and 1996. That puts the generation at roughly 30 to 45 years old as of 2026. Anyone born from 1997 onward is part of the next generation (Gen Z).

The millennial generation is characterized as being quite unique. That’s because it started before the technological revolution and lived through its adoption and widespread use.

Being a millennial myself, I do remember a time where computers were pretty big and barely had any functionality. How time flies, right? Now we have supercomputers in our pockets. What a crazy perspective to have, having lived through that transition.

Millennials also had the unfortunate timing to experience September 11th of 2001, the recession of 2008, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and the wave of high inflation and steep mortgage rates that followed it. It’s been quite a rocky road for this generation to face.

Millennials are also known for prioritizing experiences such as traveling as opposed to material possessions. They tend to hold fewer assets and carry a lot of student loan debt, but typically prioritize experiences above all else.

Millennial financial stereotypes

Just like any other generation before Millennials, there are certain habits and stereotypes that are associated with them. This is especially true when it comes to their finances.

Every generation has its own labels that are given to them by prior generations. Here are a few notable ones.

1. Millennials have high student loans

This has been the talk of the town for the longest time. Statistically, Americans owe well over $1.4 trillion in student loans, and recent data suggests that total has only kept climbing. A large share of that number is currently held by millennials.

This creates a negative effect on making meaningful progress in life. Starting a job while burdened with tens of thousands of dollars in debt is not the best way to start adulting life.

It also hasn’t gotten easier lately. The federal student loan payment pause ended and interest started accruing again back in September 2023, and the big broad forgiveness plan was struck down by the Supreme Court, so a lot of millennials are back to making payments with no bailout in sight.

Over the years, the cost of college tuition has more than doubled, making the cost of higher education that much more expensive.

2. Millennials aren’t buying home

To piggyback off off the previous Point, statistically, Millennials aren’t buying as much homes as previous generations. This is no surprise considering how much student debt, on average, Millennials have on their backs.

This is no fault of their own though. As years have gone by, the cost of education has risen significantly, whereas income has not kept up.

And it’s gotten harder, not easier. The cheap-money era is over: 30-year mortgage rates have jumped from the 3% range to roughly 6.49%, which makes the monthly payment on the same house dramatically more expensive. Buying a home is no easy task. It’s one thing to save up for a down payment, but it’s another to qualify for the mortgage based on the lender’s requirements. If you’re trying to figure out what you could actually afford at today’s rates, run the numbers with our mortgage calculator before you fall in love with a listing.

I wrote an extensive article talking about how Millennials aren’t buying homes, so you should definitely check it out.

3. They don’t hold a job for long

Another interesting stereotype that is brought up regarding Millennials is that they don’t hold a job for long. Unlike previous generations, millennials tend to change jobs more frequently.

In a survey conducted by Gallup, it found that well over 21% of Millennials changed jobs within a year. That’s a stark difference compared with baby boomers, where there are plenty of cases of someone staying with a single company all the way up to retirement.

This stereotype, I believe, is quite the strength. Millennials understand that in order to maximize income potential and climb up the corporate ladder faster, it has been proven that switching jobs will accomplish that much faster.

Things have changed in the last 50 years of working. Older Generations might have been able to cope sticking to one employer all throughout their careers. Nowadays, it makes complete sense to switch jobs instead.

I also wrote an article going over this exact thing. Definitely worth a read.

The future for millennials

Being a millennial myself, it’s hard not to be biased by this question. It’s completely natural for me to have a positive outlook and optimism towards our future, but is that really what’s going to happen?

The funny thing about life is that nobody has a crystal ball that can show them everything that’s going to happen. It’s all speculation and assumptions, however, they have some facts to be considered.

The fact that we have a student loan crisis and very low numbers of home ownership doesn’t paint a bright outcome. The number one store of wealth in the United States is real estate, and staying out of the game is causing a lot of millennials to lag behind. If you want to see where you actually stand, tracking your net worth over time on our free money dashboard is a much better gut check than comparing yourself to whatever your friends are posting online.

Final thoughts

Like every other generation before Millennials, and all generations that are to follow, there are always going to be opinions about them. Some will be negative, and some will be positive.

It’s also important to filter out all the noise, look at the facts, and determine the future outcome of this generation.

Then again, I might be slightly biased since I am part of this generation, but at the end of the day, I truthfully believe it doesn’t really matter in the end. It is all up to the individual and their choices that will determine their future.

So, what are your thoughts on this generation? Are we as doomed as they say, or is there something that everybody is missing?

Till next time!