Baby boomers and millennials have different attitudes when it comes to marriage, children, and homeownership. Researchers with the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University compared adults who were 25 to 34 years old in the 1980s with those who are in that age group today. One difference they found is that millennials are getting married later in life. In 1980, two-thirds of 25- to 34-year-olds were married; in 2015, just two in five were married.
Because baby boomers were more likely to get married younger, they generally left their parents' home much earlier than millennials. Americans in their late 20s and early 30s who live with their parents or grandparents have more than doubled since 1980, notes researcher Lydia Anderson. In 1980, only 9 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds were living with parents or grandparents compared to 22 percent in 2015.
Millennials are also putting off having children and buying a home, Anderson notes. But while millennials are lagging behind baby boomers when it comes to marriage, children, and homeownership, they are more likely to obtain a college degree, the study notes.
Source: “Young Americans Are Killing Marriage,” Bloomberg (April 4, 2017)
