Demographic Stats About US Millennials

February 24, 2014

This article is included in these additional categories:

African-American | Asian-American | Boomers & Older | Demographics & Audiences | Hispanic | Household Income | LGBTQ | Women | Youth & Gen X

Nielsen-Demo-Statistics-About-US-Millennials-Feb2014Recently, comScore issued a report about Millennials, and now it’s Nielsen’s turn. In its report [download page], Nielsen covers a lot of ground, from online to offline habits, structuring its analysis around some myth-busting findings. But of particular interest are the statistics made available regarding the demographics of this oh-so-coveted generation, described as “diverse, expressive and optimistic.”

First off, a quick note about the definition of a Millennial, which as this article describes, can take many forms. In its report, Nielsen refers to Millennials as being between the ages of 18-36, noting that their behavior may not be homogenous. In some cases, Nielsen breaks the age bracket down into younger (18-27) and older (27-36) Millennials.

Here are some intriguing, cherry-picked statistics from the report (limited for the most part to demographics):

  • Millennials (18-36) comprise 24% of the US population (77 million individuals), on par with Boomers (1946-1964) and Gen Z (born 1995-present);
  • The median income for younger Millennials is $25k, while it’s almost double that ($48k) for older Millennials;
  • Millennials account for 1 in every 5 same-sex couples;
  • Only 21% of Millennials are married, while 42% of Boomers were married at their age;
  • Almost 1 in 4 (23% to be exact) have a Bachelor’s degree or higher, making them the most educated generation (more demographic breakdowns of college graduates can be found here);
  • Millennials are the most ethnically and racially diverse generation, with 19% being Hispanic, 14% African-American and 5% Asian;
  • As for those Millennial mothers, some 36% of Millennial women have had children;
  • About 2 in 3 Millennials are US-born;
  • An impressive 38% of Millennials are bilingual, up from 22% in 2003.

So where are Millennials most likely to be found? The study points to an increasing desire on their part to live in urban environments, doing away with the suburban picket-fence mythology. Interestingly, the top markets by concentration of Millennials are primarily in the Western side of the country, while for Boomers, the top markets are mostly on the East Coast.

Here are the top 10 markets by concentration of Millennials, along with their index relative to the rest of the country:

  • Austin, TX (120);
  • Salt Lake City, UT (117);
  • San Diego, CA (117);
  • Los Angeles, CA (117);
  • Denver, CO (109);
  • Washington, DC (109);
  • Houston, TX (108);
  • Las Vegas, NV (108);
  • San Francisco, CA (107); and
  • Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX (106).

And the top 5 for Boomers?

  • Portland-Auburn, ME (117);
  • Burlington, VT-NY (114);
  • Albany, NY (111);
  • Hartford & New Haven (110); and
  • Pittsburgh, PA (109).
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