Millennials are optimistic about the future, but should they be? Some 53 percent of families across generations report that they are better off financially than their parents. Millennials, however, are less likely than both the silent generation and baby boomers to think they are better off than their parents. Between 1983 and 2010, average wealth per household increased $250,000; over the same period, the average net worth for adults ages 20–28 increased only $1,700. Many households today are wealthier than their parents were at the same age; will this pattern continue for today’s younger generations?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 4.0 International License.