--- title: Young People’s Wealth Is Growing Much Faster Than Older Generations description: Of all generations, millennials and Gen Z have increased their wealth the largest percentage since 2029. What about boomers and Gen X? authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 499 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2024-02-09T21:05:28.000Z' modified: '2024-02-09T21:05:28.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 587 canonical: https://money.com/millennials-gen-z-wealth-growing/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of a figurine walking up a dollar bill folded into stairs.](https://img.money.com/2024/02/News-Young-People-Rich.jpg) At the onset of the pandemic, millennials and adult Gen Zers held onto just under 5% of total U.S. wealth. By contrast, boomers and their parents dominated nearly three quarters of it. But now, young adults are starting to quickly close the gap. A [new wealth inequality study](https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2024/02/wealth-inequality-by-age-in-the-post-pandemic-era/) from the New York Federal Reserve found that adults under the age of 40 have grown their wealth a whopping 80% since 2019, far outpacing the financial growth of their elders. “Real wealth has increased for all three age groups since 2019,” the NY Fed researchers wrote, "but the change has been most dramatic for younger adults.” Americans 55 and older — roughly the age of baby boomers — have seen a 30% increase in wealth over that same time period. The wealth of those aged 40 to 54, aka Gen Xers, saw their wealth grow the least: 10%. ## If you owe over $10,000 in debt, a Debt Relief Program may be able to help get you back on your feet more quickly. ### Select your state to begin applying for Accredited's debt relief program. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u3792545ce33?ap_referrer=%2Fmillennials-gen-z-wealth-growing%2F) ## What generation increased their wealth the most? While the recent financial gains of younger folks are no doubt good news, a few key caveats to the NY Fed’s findings may sour the mood for Gen Zers and millennials eager for a rare financial win. First, younger folks — by virtue of not having as much time as their elders to establish their careers, invest and [grow their wealth](https://money.com/changemakers/first-generation-investors/) — have lower net worths from the get-go. When viewed as a percentage, smaller numbers are, of course, more susceptible to larger percentage-point swings. In terms of real dollars, young adults increased their collective wealth by about $3.8 trillion since the onset of the pandemic, while Americans 55 and older expanded their fortunes by $22 trillion, according to Money’s analysis of NY Fed data.
Wealth gains by age
Young adults have made strong progress but still lag behind
Wealth in 2019% of U.S. wealth in 2019Current wealth% of current U.S. wealth
Age 18-39$5 trillion4.9%$8.9 trillion6.6%
Age 40-54$25.5 trillion23.5%$27.3 trillion20.5%
Age 55+$74.5 trillion75.4%$97.3 trillion72.9%
###### *Source: Money, NY Federal Reserve. Current wealth based on July 2023 data. Amounts are adjusted for inflation.* Another key point to consider is *how* that money was made. For folks under 40, the growth in their net worth was largely driven by [surging post-pandemic stock markets](https://money.com/stocks-could-hit-all-time-highs-soon/). The researchers noted that people in this age group tend to have a larger exposure to [stocks](https://money.com/how-to-buy-stocks/) (and thus a riskier portfolio), which is why their net worths have disproportionately benefited. On the other hand, surging markets indeed helped older Americans, but not to the same extent. What really drove wealth gains for them was considerable growth in real estate assets. According to the [U.S. Census Bureau](https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/07/younger-householders-drove-rebound-in-homeownership.html), more than 3 out of every 4 Americans aged 55 and older own a home, and since [home values have soared](https://money.com/housing-market-predictions-2024-zillow-redfin/) in recent years, this has given older Americans a major boost to their net worth. That said, the recent financial gains made by young adults have nonetheless resulted in a bigger piece of the U.S. wealth pie, and that's good news for them no matter how you cut it. “Faster wealth growth among younger adults,” the researcher wrote, “has led to a limited narrowing of age-based wealth disparities over the past four years.” Now, Money's analysis shows, they own about 7% of the nation’s wealth. ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! 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