Gen x age range
The idea that millennials are a bridge to a much more diverse America is evident from looking at the post-millennial generation-persons now under age 18. Back in 2000, when millennials were just beginning to impact demographics, this young adult age group was 63 percent white, whereas in 1990 it was 73 percent white.Įdited by Bruce Katz and Robert E. Overall, millennials are 55.8 percent white and nearly 30 percent “new minorities” (Hispanics, Asians and those identifying as two or more races). Plainly, the millennial generation is ushering in the nation’s broader racial diversity.
Those in the 35- to 54-year-old age group, including Gen Xers and the tail-end of the Baby Boom generation (at 61.5 percent white, 17.6 percent Hispanic and 12.5 percent black), roughly represent the national racial composition. 61.6 percent) and, among them, blacks are the largest racial minority. Millennials were born during a period of heightened immigration and more modest white growth (See Figure 1).Īs of 2015, the population 55-years-old and older, which includes most Baby Boomers, is “whiter” than the country as a whole (75 percent vs. More important for the future is the clear disparity between the racial makeup of the millennial generation and of preceding generations. Millennials make up 27 percent of the total minority population, 38 percent of voting age minorities, and a whopping 43 percent of primary working age minorities. Among racial minorities their numbers are even more imposing. They comprise 23 percent of the total population, 30 percent of the voting age population, and 38 percent of the primary working age population.
Millennials between ages 18 and 34 are now synonymous with America’s young adults, fully occupying labor force and voting ages. Newly released 2015 Census data points to millennials’ role in transitioning America to the “majority minority” nation it is becoming. Racial diversity will be the most defining and impactful characteristic of the millennial generation.