Throughout the years, I’ve collected some of the most interesting primary and secondary research related to the millennial generation (also termed Gen Y). These stats shed lights on how the economy has affected their lives, their values, how they view the workplace, their consumer and investing habits, political views and entrepreneurial spirit. Here is my full list by category:
Facts About Generations Series
51 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Generation Z.
74 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Millennials.
44 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Generation X.
53 Of The Most Interesting Facts About Baby Boomers.
Millennials and the economy
- $1 trillion in student debt. [Bloomberg]
- The average member of Gen Y carries $45 000 in debt. [PNC Financial Services]
- Unemployment rate of 16.3% [Generation Opportunity]
- 40% of Millennials said their stress had increased last year [American Psychological Association]
- Just 6 in 10 Millennials have jobs, half are part-time [Harvard University]
- 284,000 American college graduates working in minimum-wage jobs in 2012. [Wall Street Journal]
- 48% of employed college graduates work in jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. [The Center for College Affordability and Productivity]
- 50% do not believe that Social Security will exist when they reach their retirement age. [iOme Measure of Millennials]
- Their average incomes have fallen 8% since the recession began in 2007. [Bloomberg]
- 63% know someone who had to move back home because of the economy. [Pew Research]
- Median net worth fell 37% between 2005 and 2010. [U.S. Census]
- Average student carries $12,700 in credit-card and other kinds of debt. [The Daily Beast]
- Nearly a third have put off marriage or having a baby due to the recession. [Pew Research]
- 88% of millennials are optimistic about finding a job. [Millennial Branding & Beyond.com]
- 45% believe a decent paying job is a “privilege”. [Telefonica]
- Over 63% of Gen Y workers have a Bachelor’s Degree. [Millennial Branding / PayScale]
- Median salary across Gen Y is $39,700. [Millennial Branding / PayScale]
Millennial values
- 81% have donated money, goods or services. [Walden University and Harris Interactive]
- 75% see themselves as authentic and are not willing to compromise their family and personal values. [Bentley University’s Center For Women And Business]
- On track to become the most educated generation in American history. [Pew Research]
- 61% of millennials are worried about the state of the world and feel personally responsible to make a difference. [Huffington Post]
- 65% of Millennials say losing their phone or computer would have a greater negative impact on their daily routine than losing their car. [Zipcar]
- 44% of Millennials say that marriage is becoming obsolete, compared to 35% of Boomers who feel the same way. [Pew Researh]
- 39% of Millennials have a tattoo. [Pew Research]
- 33% of Millennials live in cities and 14% live in rural environments. [Pew Research]
- More tolerant of races and groups than older generations (47% vs. 19%), with 45% agreeing with preferential treatment to improve the position of minorities. [US Chamber of Commerce]
Millennials as employees
- By next year, millennials will account for 36% of the U.S. workforce and by 2025, they will account for 75% of the global workplace. [U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics / The Business and Professional Women’s Foundation]
- 41% of millennials do what their managers tell them to do, which is greater than older generations. [Strategy+Business]
- 84% say that helping to make a positive difference in the world is more important than professional recognition. [Bentley University’s Center For Women And Business]
- Millennials say they do not deserve special treatment and are equally as committed as non-Millennials. [PwC]
- 92% believe that business success should be measured by more than profit. [Deloitte]
- Millennial employees have about the same level of organizational commitment as boomers and Gen Xers. [Strategy+Business]
- 40% of Millennials think that blogging about workplace issues is acceptable. Compared to 28% of Boomers. [Iconoculture]
- 29% of Millennial workers think work meetings to decide on a course of action are very efficient. Compared to 45% of Boomers [Iconoculture 2011]
- 80% of Gen Y said they prefer on-the-spot recognition over formal reviews, and feel that this is imperative for their growth and understanding of a job. [Achievers and Experience Inc.]
- 70% have “friended” their managers and/or co-workers on Facebook. [Cisco]
- 71% don’t always obey social media policie at work. [Cisco]
- Connected to an average of 16 co-workers on Facebook [Millennial Branding / Identified.com]
- It costs an average of $24,000 to replace each Gen Y employee. [Millennial Branding / Beyond.com]
- 15% of Gen Y’s are already managers. [Millennial Branding / PayScale]
- 56% of Gen Y’s won’t work at a company if they ban social media access. [Cisco]
- 69% believe office attendance is unecessary on a regular basis. [Cisco]
- Average tenure for Gen Y is 2 years (5 for Gen X and 7 for Baby Boomers). [Millennial Branding / PayScale]
Millennials as entrepreneurs
- 35% of employed Millennials have started their own business on the side to supplement their income . [Iconoculture]
- 90% say being an entrepreneur is a mindset instead of the role of a business owner [Millennial Branding / oDesk]
- 46% of Gen Y wants to start a business in the next 5 years. [Employers Insurance]
- 54% either want to start a business or already have started one. [Kauffman Foundation]
- More than a quarter (27%) are already self-employed.[US Chamber of Commerce]
Millennials as consumers
- By 2015, their annual spending is expected to be $2.45 trillion and by 2018, they will exclipse boomers in spending power at $3.39 trillion. [Oracle]
- 63% stay updated on brands through social networks. [Ipsos]
- 46% count on social media when buying online, but 55% of Gen Y share bad experiences. [YouGov]
- 41% of millennials have no landline at home and rely on their cellphones for communication. [Pew Social Trends]
- 48% of Millennials who say word-of-mouth influences their product purchases more than TV ads. Only 17% said a TV ad prompted them to buy. [Intrepid]
- 41% of Millennials have made a purchase using their smartphone. [Edelman Digital]
- 32% of Millennials say they don’t like advertising in general, compared to 37% of the general population. [Experian Simmon]
- 43% have liked more than 20 brands on Facebook. [Mr. Youth]
- 77% participate in loyalty reward programs. [Aimia]
- 44% are willing to promote products or services through social media in exchange for rewards. [Aimia]
- More engaged in activies like rating products and services than older generations (60% vs 46%). [BCG]
- 84% report that user generated content on company websites at least somewhat influences what they buy [Bazaarvoice]
Millennials as investors
- 46% count on social media when buying online, but 55% of Gen Y share bad experiences. [YouGov]
- 43% of millennial respondents described themselves as “conservative” investor. [Accenture]
- Gen Y is nearly 10% of all affluent investors in the U.S. [Cogent Research]
- 84% of Gen Y are seeking advice about finance. [Merrill Lynch]
- 57% will change financial advisors for a tech setting. [WealthManagement.com]
- 61% want video meetings with advisors. [WealthManagement.com]
Millennials in politics
- They elected our president – 60% voted for Obama in 2012, 66% in 2008 [Pew Research / Huffington Post]
- Millennials will be 40% of the electorate by 2020. [The Center for American Progress]
- 41% satisfied with the way things are going in the country. [Pew Research]
- In 2008, 48 million millennials (those born between 1978 and 2000) were eligible to vote, and 25 million actually did. [The Atlantic]
- Younger Americans are most progressive (56.6) on cultural and social values and the least progressive on economic and domestic policy (53.1). [American Progress]
- 42% believe that “our current economic problems show what happens when you rely too much on the market and reduce regulations on corporations. [American Progress]
- 48% believe that their parents most influence their vote (aside from themselves). [Millennial Branding / Internships.com]
- 58% said they would be following the 2012 election on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. [Millennial Branding / Internships.com]
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Phil says
June 25, 2013 at 12:51 pm“Millennials have already saved an average of $55,000 for retirement. [Merrill Lynch]”. This seems to be out of place when looking all the other numbers about school debt, minimum wage numbers, part time employment numbers, millennials that have moved back in with parents, etc.
Dan Schawbel says
July 6, 2013 at 12:12 pmThanks for the feedback, it has been removed.
Tanya Hnastchenko says
September 19, 2013 at 10:49 pmI don’t believe that stat above to be out of place. As a millennial almost all of the above apply, although I do have my own apartment. Considering I don’t expect social security to be around when I’m older, I have opted for an aggressive 401K. That being said, I still have large amounts of students loans. Food for thought.
Ted says
October 7, 2015 at 4:24 pmAgree with Tanya – just because I have started saving in many different ways, I still have debt. It’ about managing debt and investments properly. College Loan debt is cheap if you’re making more money on investments then the interest being charged. Student Loan debt will also be forgiven after 25 years of paying with Income Based plan…therefore smarter and cheaper then paying off in full.
Gadi says
June 27, 2013 at 1:01 pmWhat do you define as a “Millennial”? Born between 1977-1990? 1980-2000?
Dan Schawbel says
July 6, 2013 at 12:11 pmBorn between 1982 and 1993.
Lisa Spencer says
October 7, 2013 at 12:55 pmI am perplexed. If this cohort only spans 11 years, how can it be this high a proportion of the workforce?: (from list above)
‘By next year, millennials will account for 36% of the U.S. workforce and by 2025, they will account for 75% of the global workplace’
LJ says
May 15, 2015 at 1:39 pmThe millennials are a huge group, the Gen Xers are a tiny group. Reserach states that Gen Xers felt like their families were too small and fragmented, so they made themselves these huge families with lots of little millennials.
li05 says
April 27, 2016 at 1:15 amThere were more millenials born than boomers
Brandon says
November 11, 2018 at 10:57 pmSo the millennial generation is only 11 years?? You got the birth years way wrong there, buddy.
Angela P says
June 27, 2013 at 6:51 pmFantastic article and well researched. It is mind blowing to even consider the extent to which social media and internet inform us today, and particularly how it has shaped the way Gen Y’s (someone believing it is as necessary as food and water!). I am of course curious to see what takes over from text messaging as the next wave of preferred communication for our future babes of the world.
John G says
July 29, 2013 at 11:25 pmGreat list you put together here Dan. I was surprised to see that only 41% of those in our Gen Y cohort made purchases using their smartphone. Given the continuing ease of use, flexibility and convergence between retailers and financial institutions I’m sure this number will increase significantly as time goes on. By the way I’m a new reader to your blog and will be subscribing.
Chris Conrey says
August 28, 2013 at 1:47 pmHow can they have a 16.3% unemployment rate and still have 6 of ten employed (half part time) in the first section. Seems like your math is off there.
Riley says
September 27, 2013 at 9:12 pmThe official unemployment rate only includes people who are actively looking for work. Depending on the cutoff used, many millennials are still in school of some form.
Stephanie Pegler says
May 16, 2014 at 4:13 pmDan, I enjoy reading your posts and learning from them! You share some great insights. Check out my article on Millennial graduates and what we’re bringing to the workplace: http://bit.ly/1lrBnVL
Nick says
April 30, 2015 at 2:40 pmare these global statistics?
Geo says
June 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm42% believe that “our current economic problems show what happens when you rely too much on the market and reduce regulations on corporations. [American Progress]
This just confirms to me that they are regurgitating a lot of what they are taught without doing research. I’ve worked in government most my life and we are not relying on the market to regulate corporations as claimed by so many anti-capitalist. I am not saying that a market should be a sole regulator however, never have we had so much government regulation in the history of this country as we do now.
Lentsch says
November 16, 2019 at 3:08 pmThank you Dan. Great data on Millennials. Love the stat of 56% of Gen Y won’t work at a company if they ban social media access. Always exciting to see the behaviors of each generation.
Have an awesome day!
-Tommy Lentsch
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4704179