Apr 14, 2026
Much ink has been spilled over who has it worse, millennials or baby boomers. Both generational groups have lived through major world events and recessions, so each can argue it faced a tougher road.
A recent report by the Wall Street Journal (1) looks at whether millennials really got the "short end of the economic stick" compared with baby boomers. It compares what each group earned and spent during its prime years to gauge who carries the heavier financial burden.
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Here's how their incomes and expenses stack up.
Purchasing power has gone up, but so have costs
The WSJ defines baby boomers as those born between 1946 and 1964 and millennials as those born between 1981 and 1996. That puts baby boomers in their prime earning years, ages 25 to 44, from 1971 to 2008. The youngest millennials are turning 30 this year, so their comparable window runs from 2006 to the present.
One common complaint from millennials is that income hasn't kept pace with the costs of essentials like housing and food. In many cases, that's true, but it's not across the board.
According to Consumer Affairs, purchasing power has generally increased since 1973 (2), the starting point for its data. That suggests median income has, over time, outpaced since the early years of boomer adulthood.
Millennials are also doing better now than in the past. As of 2022, data from the Federal Reserve (3) shows millennials are 37% above wealth expectations, compared with 38% below expectations in 2026.
In less than a decade, millennials moved from well below to well above the inflation-adjusted median wealth of other generations.
Still, some key expenses have risen faster than both inflation and purchasing power. College, for example, has surged since the 1980s, according to WSJ data (4). As a result, the median student loan balance for millennials is tens of thousands of dollars higher than what boomers carried at similar ages.
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Day care and rent have risen faster than median income, though not nearly as much as tuition. Food and vehicle costs, by comparison, have increased more slowly than overall income.
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Housing prices are more complicated than they appear
Housing remains a major sticking point for millennials. Median home prices have risen (5) significantly since 1973, even after adjusting for inflation.
At the same time, 30-year fixed mortgage rates have dropped (6). Rates peaked above 18% in 1981 and fell below 3% in 2020 and 2021 before rising again. That gives millennials an advantage in securing loans with more manageable interest rates, lowering monthly payments even as home prices climb.
Consider a comparison using inflation-adjusted median home prices in 1985 and 2023. According to Consumer Affairs (7), the median price was $237,490 in 1985 and $436,100 in 2023. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows mortgage rates were about 13% in 1985 and about 6.5% in 2023.
Millennials face a higher hurdle when it comes to down payments. Saving 20% today requires far more cash than it did for similarly aged boomers, which can delay homeownership. But once that hurdle is cleared, monthly payments are surprisingly close: $2,251.69 for baby boomers and $2,355.16 for millennials.
Federal and state homebuying assistance (8) programs can help ease the burden of large down payments, depending on where buyers live and whether they qualify.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Wall Street Journal (1),(4); Consumer Affairs (2),(5),(7); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (3),(6); USA.gov (8)
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Kit Pulliam is a DC-based financial journalist with over five years of experience writing, editing, and fact-checking financial content. They've covered a wide variety of financial topics, including banking, taxes, budgeting, investing, politics, the economy, and government policy.
