Charted: U.S. Wealth by Generation

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1 hour ago

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June 27, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Charted: U.S. Wealth by Generation

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In 2023, American Baby Boomers owned 52% of the country’s net wealth despite comprising only 20% of the population.

Based on Federal Reserve data, this graphic illustrates the distribution of wealth in the United States from 1990 to 2023 by generation.

Generations are defined by birth year:

Silent Generation (born before 1946) Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) Gen Xers (born 1965-1980) Millennials (born 1981-1996) Baby Boomers Own Over Half of the Wealth

Baby Boomers are often considered one of the luckier generations in terms of timing.

Most did not experience wars and benefited from strong economic growth driven by falling interest rates, a roaring stock market, global monetary expansion, and high earnings. Consequently, this group’s wealth grew from $4.5 trillion in 1990 to $76.2 trillion in 2023.

Wealth by Generation (USD, Trillions) YearSilentBaby BoomGen XMillennial 199017.3T4.5T0.2T0 199519.9T8.6T0.6T0 200022.8T17.0T2.2T0 200527.1T29.2T5.2T0.3T 201021.6T34.4T6.0T0.5T 201521.4T48.4T13.0T1.9T 202019.3T66.2T31.3T7.2T 202319.7T76.2T37.8T13.5T

Meanwhile, Gen X’s share of American wealth rose from 15% in 2013 to 26% in 2023. In contrast, with most of the cohort over 80 years old, the Silent Generation saw its share of the national wealth total drop from 79% in 1990 to 13% in 2024.

Contrary to their ‘broke generation’ label, millennials have defied expectations. They saw their wealth reach historic highs after the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing more wealth by their 40s than previous generations. In a significant leap, millennials’ share of wealth in America increased from a modest 1.4% to a promising 9.2% between 1990 and 2023.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which shows the retirement savings that Americans currently hold.

Visualizing the Wealth of Americans Under 40 (1989-2023)

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5 hours ago

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June 18, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Visualizing the Wealth of Americans Under 40 (1989-2023)

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Millennials have been often referred to as a “broke generation.” Whether in conversations or on the news, it is common to hear how those born in the 1980s or 1990s are struggling in today’s economy, particularly when it comes to entering the housing market or saving for retirement.

However, data shows that the wealth of Americans under 40 years old has hit historic highs after the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that millennials have accumulated more wealth by their 40s than previous generations.

To illustrate this, the graphic above shows the average wealth per household, adjusted for inflation, for Americans under 40 years old from Q4 1989 to Q4 2023 (in December 2023 dollars). The data is sourced from the Federal Reserve and accessed via the Center for American Progress.

Post-Pandemic Recovery

Data indicates that younger Americans have reaped the most benefits from the strong economic recovery after the pandemic, enjoying low unemployment rates and rapid wage growth.

The average wealth of U.S. households under 40 was $259,000 in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, compared to $164,000 in Q4 1989 and $182,000 in Q4 2000.

QuarterAverage Wealth for Those Under 40 (USD) Q4 1990152K Q4 1995146K Q4 2000182K Q4 2005184K Q4 2010100K Q4 2015148K Q4 2020231K Q4 2023259K

Looking specifically at millennial households, inflation-adjusted wealth has more than doubled during the same period.

The increase in younger Americans’ wealth is not concentrated in a single area. Average housing wealth—house values minus mortgage debt—rose by $22,000 from 2019 to 2023. Younger Americans also saw gains in liquid assets, such as bank deposits and money market mutual funds, business ownership, and financial assets, mainly stocks and mutual funds.

Additionally, non-housing debt, such as credit card and student loan debt, fell for this age group after the pandemic.

Ranked: Countries Where Youth are the Most Unhappy, Relative to Older Generations

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48 mins ago

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May 17, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Countries with the Biggest Happiness Gaps Between Generations

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” — Tom Bodett

Measuring happiness is tricky business, more so when taking into account how different regions, cultures, and faiths define it. Nevertheless, the World Happiness Report attempts to distill being happy into a single score out of 10, and then ranks countries by their average score.

We’ve visualized the high-level findings from the latest happiness report in this series of maps. However, the report also dives deeper into other significant trends in the data, such as a growing disparity in happiness between age groups within countries themselves.

In the chart above, we list countries by the biggest gaps in happiness ranks between young adults (30) and older adults (60+). A higher number indicates a larger gap, and that the youth are far unhappier than their older counterparts.

Where are Youth Unhappier than Older Adults?

Mauritius ranks first on this list, with a massive 57 place gap between older adult and youth happiness. The 1.26 million-inhabited island nation briefly reached high income status in 2020, but the pandemic hit hard, hurting its key tourism sector, and affecting jobs.

The country’s youth unemployment rate spiked to close to 25% that year, but has since been on the decline. Like residents on many similarly-populated islands, the younger demographic often moves abroad in search of more opportunities.

RankCountryYouth Happiness RankOlder Adult
Happiness RankHappiness Gap 1🇲🇺 Mauritius852857 2🇺🇸 U.S.621052 3🇨🇦 Canada58850 4🇺🇿 Uzbekistan712249 5🇨🇳 China793049 6🇯🇵 Japan733637 7🇲🇳 Mongolia865333 8🇩🇿 Algeria936231 9🇱🇾 Libya805030 10🇸🇬 Singapore542628 11🇰🇿 Kazakhstan694227 12🇵🇭 Philippines704327 13🇱🇦 Laos1047727 14🇩🇪 Germany472126 15🇪🇸 Spain552926 16🇲🇹 Malta573126 17🇧🇭 Bahrain775126 18🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan815526 19🇲🇷 Mauritania1199326