We all know Millennials. They’re the resourceful, creative youngsters who grew up with the latest technology and who are big fans of music festivals and avocado toast. Known as a generation of renters, many Millennials find renting more affordable and hassle-free than buying. But that’s not the only reason they don’t buy. At a time when they should be able to focus on their career, settling down and having a family, Millennials are still going through the stress of student loan debts while at the same time struggling to pay rent.
The cost of renting is a huge subject nowadays and a big expense as well, arguably the biggest it’s ever been. We were curious to find out exactly how much Millennials spend on rent before the age of 30 and if it’s true that they’re more rent burdened than previous generations. In our quest for more information, we turned to U.S. Census to shed some light on this topic and looked at each generation’s total income and total rent paid for an 8-year period (from 22 to and including 29 years of age). Specifically, we looked at the median income representative for the ages analyzed, rather than the median income of the overall population, because people in their 20s, with limited experience in the workforce, typically have a lower income than those over 40 who are at the peak of their careers. Our analysis refers to single people paying a median rent on their own, and all amounts were adjusted to 2017 prices.
