DON'T BE PLAYEDA ClaimYourVoterPower.org Fact Brief
Fact Brief · September 2026
Cost of Living for Gen Z
16%
of Americans — 55.3 million people — are 18 to 29 [1]
Do you face a different basic economy than your parents and grandparents did at your age? These facts will help you answer that question for yourself.
This brief compares young adults at the same age in three years — 1985, 2005 and the latest year published — using one measurement series per line, so the comparison is apples to apples. Where a series starts later than 1985, it says so. Every number prints its own year and compares "apples to apples".
Know the Terms
| Real dollars — a figure adjusted for inflation, so we can compare past dollars to today. Tables say which year. | Dollars of the day — the figure as reported that year, not adjusted for inflation. |
| Median — the middle value: half above, half below. Not the average. | Transfers — money from government programs such as Social Security, food assistance or tax credits. "After taxes and transfers" counts them as income. |
| Householder — the person in whose name a home is owned or rented. "Under-35 households" are headed by someone under 35. | Ratio, share — a cost divided by an income in the same year. Needs no inflation adjustment. |
| Cost-burdened — paying more than 30% of income for housing. | Price-to-income — median home price divided by median household income. 5 means five years of income. |
| Living in a parent's home — in Census counts, an unmarried college student in a dorm is counted as living at home. | Underemployed — working in a job that typically does not require a college degree. It does not mean part-time. |
| Benchmark premium — the price of the second-lowest-cost silver plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, before any subsidy. |
Each row is one measurement, taken the same way in each year shown. The three columns are 1985, 2005 and the latest year published — the year sits inside the cell, because surveys report on different schedules. A dash means the series had not begun. The bracketed number links straight to the source; the same source is listed again at the end.
Income — higher at the same age, generation after generation
| Real median household income, 2024 dollars [2] | 1985 | 2005 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Householder 25–34 | $65,390 | $72,670 | $90,100 |
| Householder under 25 | $39,230 | $44,130 | $60,310 |
| All households | $61,570 | $71,060 | $83,730 |
| Median income at ages 36–40, after taxes and transfers, vs. the generation before at the same age [3] | Boomers Bn. 1946–64 | Gen X Bn. 1965–80 | Millennials Bn. 1981–96 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen Z (1997–2012) is too young to measure. | +27% | +16% | +18% |
Census Bureau, Current Population Survey; Federal Reserve Board working paper (one study, not peer-reviewed).
Buying a first home
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age of first-time buyer, realtor association survey — same survey all three years [4] | 29 | 32 | 40 (2025) |
| Same, from records of closed mortgages [5] | — | — | 32–33 (2025) |
| Households headed by someone under 35 who own their home [6] | 39.9% | 43.0% | 37.0% (2025) |
| 30-year mortgage rate, Freddie Mac weekly survey [7] | 11.31% | 6.30% | 6.66% (Aug. 2026) |
| Median down payment, first-time buyers, share of price [30] [31] | about 10% (1989) | about 3% | 10% (2025) |
| Median down payment, repeat buyers [30] [31] | about 23% (1989) | about 16% | 23% (2025) |
| Median existing-home sale price, dollars of the day [8] | $75,500 | $219,000 | $440,600 (June 2026) |
| Home price ÷ median household income, all households [2] [8] [9] | 3.2 | 4.7 | about 5 (2025) |
| Total monthly cost of the median-priced home — mortgage, taxes, insurance — dollars of the day [10] | $996 (1990) | $1,698 | $3,168 (2025) |
Mortgage-rate readings are the weeks of Dec. 13, 1985, Dec. 15, 2005 and Aug. 27, 2026. Under-35 ownership was 35.2% in April–June 2026. The monthly-cost series begins in 1990 and assumes 3.5% down. Down payments for 1989 and 2005 are read from NAR's chart; loan records put the mid-2000s at 3% and 20%.
Renting
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median asking rent, dollars of the day [11] | $343 (1988) | $605 | $1,490 (2025) |
| A year's asking rent ÷ median household income, same year [11] [2] | 15.1% (1988) | 15.7% | 21.3% (2024) |
| Renter households paying over 30% of income for housing (considered cost-burdened) [12] | 35% (1980) | 40.6% (2001) | 49% (2024) |
| Average yearly rent increase, Consumer Price Index [13] | — | 3.3% a year, 1985–2005 | 3.5% a year, 2005–2026 |
Asking rent is for vacant units; the Census series begins in 1988. The cost-burden series has 1980, 2001, 2019 and 2024.
Living with parents
| 1985 | 2005 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ages 18–34 living in a parent's home (college students in dorms counted as home) [14] | 28.1% | 26.9% | 33.0% |
Computed from Census counts: 19.3 of 68.7 million (1985); 18.1 of 67.3 million (2005); 25.2 of 76.4 million (2025).
College
| Public four-year, in-state, 2025 dollars [15] | 1985–86 | 2005–06 | 2025–26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published annual tuition and fees | $3,950 | $9,050 | $11,950 |
| Annual tuition and fees plus housing and food | $11,550 | $19,980 | $25,850 |
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay premium for a bachelor's degree or higher over high school only — median weekly pay of full-time workers 25 and over (a yearly snapshot, not lifetime earnings) [33] | +52% | +74% | +80% (2025) |
Enrollment-weighted averages of published prices, before grants. The pay premium is computed from BLS medians: $506 vs. $333 (1985), $1,013 vs. $583 (2005), $1,740 vs. $966 (2025).
Jobs
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share of 18–24-year-olds enrolled in college [16] | 27.8% | 38.9% | 39% (2022) |
| Unemployment rate, all workers [17] [18] | 7.2% | 5.1% | 4.1% (Aug. 2026) |
| Unemployment, recent college graduates ages 22–27 [19] | 3.4% (1990) | 4.4% | 5.7% (June 2026) |
| Unemployment, all workers ages 22–27, any education [19] | 7.6% (1990) | 8.5% | 7.2% (June 2026) |
| Recent graduates working in jobs that do not typically require a degree [19] | 42.9% (1990) | 44.1% | 42.0% (2026) |
The graduate series begins in 1990 and reports 12-month averages; readings are January 1990, January 2005 and June 2026.
Child care
| 2025 | |
|---|---|
| National average annual price of child care for one child, all ages and settings [20] | $13,184 |
Child Care Aware of America, an advocacy organization; average of three methods across 47 states. No comparable series exists for 1985 or 2005.
Health care
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worker's yearly share of an employer family plan [21] [22] | — (series begins 1999) | $2,713 | $6,850 (2025) |
| Worker's yearly share, single coverage [21] [22] | — | $610 | $1,440 (2025) |
| Buying your own coverage: benchmark marketplace premium, age 40, before subsidies [23] | — (begins 2014) | — | $7,500 a year (2026) |
| Health care as a share of all household spending [24] [25] | 4.7% | 5.7% | 7.9% (2024) |
Employer plans: the employer paid $8,167 of the family premium in 2005 and $20,143 in 2025.
Food and gasoline
| 1985 | 2005 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food as a share of all household spending [24] [25] | 14.8% | 12.8% | 12.9% |
| Food as a share of income before taxes [24] [25] | 13.8% | 10.1% | 9.8% |
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular gasoline, price per gallon, dollars of the day [32] | $1.23 (Aug. 1985) | $2.51 (Aug. 2005) | $4.20 (Aug. 2026) |
In 2024 the average household spent $6,224 on groceries and $3,945 eating out. Gasoline readings are August of each year, from one monthly series that begins in 1976; the price hit $2.93 in Sept. 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and was $3.07 in Feb. 2026.
Marriage and children
| 1985 | 2005 | Latest | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age at first marriage, men / women [26] | 25.5 / 23.3 | 27.1 / 25.3 | 30.2 / 28.6 (2024) |
| Mother's average age at first birth [27] [28] [29] | 23.7 | 25.2 | 27.6 (2024) |
When you hear a claim, ask
- Same age? A 60-year-old's wealth against a 28-year-old's measures age, not generations.
- Same measurement? A mail survey and a mortgage record put the first-time buyer at 40 and 33 in the same year.
- Sticker or net? Dollars of the day or real dollars? Share or dollars?
- Which age band — under 35, 25–34, 22–27? They are not interchangeable.
- Is it a measurable fact or an assumption, opinion or attribution? Births, jobs and living arrangements are counted; motives are not.
What do the facts say to Gen Zers?
- Income at the same age is higher than your parents' and grandparents' was.
- Housing, college, and health care are the main costs that take a larger share of income.
- The main cost, housing, now takes about five years of income to buy, up from three; a fifth of income for rent, up from a sixth; ownership under 35 down from 43% to 37%.
- The mortgage rate is below your grandparents' and near your parents'. The price is the difference.
- One in three young adults lives at home or in dorms, up from one in four — the 1980s were higher than the 2000s.
- College sticker price tripled in real terms; the pay premium for a degree rose from about 50% to 80%; graduate underemployment has not changed in 36 years.
- Food takes about the same share of spending as in 2005; health care takes more.
- Marriage and first births come about five years later than in 1985.
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies — jchs.harvard.edu. Publishes The State of the Nation's Housing every June and America's Rental Housing every other spring, with interactive tables updated in between. Housing is the cost that changed most for young adults, and this is the one resource that republishes the numbers on a schedule.
1.Census Bureau, Population Estimates, resident population by single year of age, July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025). census.gov
2.Census Bureau, Historical Income Tables, Table H-10, age of householder, 1967–2024. census.gov
3.Corinth and Larrimore, “Has Intergenerational Progress Stalled?” Federal Reserve Board FEDS 2024-007, Feb. 2024. Working paper. doi.org
4.National Association of Realtors, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, Nov. 4, 2025 — Historic Numbers fast-facts sheet and Exhibit 1-1 (mail survey, 6,103 responses). nar.realtor
5.Mortgage Bankers Association, Chart of the Week, July 21, 2026 (FHFA National Mortgage Database and other loan records). mba.org
6.Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, Historical Table 15, and Q2 2026 release. census.gov
7.Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, weekly. freddiemac.com
8.National Association of Realtors, median sales price of existing homes, via FRED. fred.stlouisfed.org
9.Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026. jchs.harvard.edu
10.Harvard JCHS, total monthly costs on the median-priced home, quarterly 1990–2025 (appendix data). jchs.harvard.edu
11.Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Homeownership, Historical Table 11A, median asking rent. census.gov
12.Harvard JCHS, America’s Rental Housing 2026, cost-burden interactive; 1980 from the decennial Census. jchs.harvard.edu
13.Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI rent of primary residence, via FRED. fred.stlouisfed.org
14.Census Bureau, Table AD-1, young adults living in a parent’s home, 1960–2025. census.gov
15.College Board, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2025, Table CP-2. research.collegeboard.org
16.National Center for Education Statistics, Digest Table 302.60. nces.ed.gov
17.Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rate, annual, via FRED. fred.stlouisfed.org
18.Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, August 2026. bls.gov
19.Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates. newyorkfed.org
20.Child Care Aware of America, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply. childcareaware.org
21.KFF, 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey. kff.org
22.KFF, 2015 Employer Health Benefits Survey, Summary of Findings (2005 figures). files.kff.org
23.KFF, average marketplace premiums by metal tier, 2026. kff.org
24.Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys, multiyear tables 1984–1991 and 2000–2005. bls.gov
25.Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditures — 2024, Dec. 19, 2025. bls.gov
26.Census Bureau, Historical Marital Status Tables, Table MS-2. census.gov
27.National Center for Health Statistics, Mean Age of Mother, 1970–2000, NVSR 51-1. cdc.gov
28.NCHS, Births: Final Data for 2005, NVSR 56-6, Table 15. cdc.gov
29.NCHS, Births: Final Data for 2024, NVSR 75-2, June 9, 2026, Table A. cdc.gov
30.National Association of Realtors, “Typical Down Payment Among Home Buyers 1989–2024,” Economists’ Outlook, 2025; 2025 values from the Profile fast-facts sheet. nar.realtor
31.Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mortgage Market Note 13-01, Oct. 28, 2013 (loan-to-value of first-time and repeat buyers, from loan records). fhfa.gov
32.Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Price Data, unleaded regular gasoline, U.S. city average, monthly 1976–2026 (series APU000074714), via FRED. fred.stlouisfed.org
33.Bureau of Labor Statistics, median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers 25 and over by educational attainment, annual 1979–2025 (series LEU0252917300 high school, LEU0252918500 bachelor’s and higher), via FRED. fred.stlouisfed.org
All links verified September 7, 2026; sources 32 and 33 added and verified September 11 and 12, 2026.
Every Fact Brief follows the same discipline — so you can trust what's on these pages, and check it yourself.
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5.Produce a concise Fact Brief.
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7.Present the facts on contested points; note where credible sources disagree.
8.Use sources across the political spectrum, chosen for reliability — not for the conclusions they reach.
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