Sorry Boomers, Millennials and younger now the majority of America

Those born after 1981 now make up more American residents than those born just after WWII – for years the demographic that's led social and political change

An elderly residents walks inside deserted John Knox Village, a retirement community in Pompano Beach, Florida. AFP

Move over boomers, Millennials, their younger siblings and children now make up a majority of the US population.

A new analysis by the Brookings Institution shows that 50.7 per cent of US residents were under age 40, as of July 2019.

The analysis of population estimates released this summer by the US Census Bureau shows that the combined Millennial, Generation Z and younger numbered 166 million people. The combined Generation X, baby boomer and older cohorts represented 162 million US residents.

“To many Americans – especially baby boomers themselves – this news may come as a shock. For them, the term 'millennial' has been associated with a youthful, often negative, vibe in terms of habits, ideology, and politics,” William Frey, a senior fellow at Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy Program, wrote in the analysis. “Now, the oldest millennial is 39, and with their numbers exceeding those of baby boomers, the millennial generation is poised to take over influential roles in business and government.”

Those under age 40 are more diverse than the older cohorts, with almost half identifying as being part of a racial or ethnic minority. Past surveys show that the younger generations split from the older generations on issues such as immigration reform, criminal justice reform and environmental protection – the pandemic and recent racial justice protests are likely to galvanise the younger groups to promote an array of progressive causes, Mr Frey wrote.

Millennials are typically defined as being born between 1981 and 1996. Baby boomers, long considered a primary driver of demographic and social change in the US because of their large numbers, were born between the end of World War II and the arrival of the Beatles in the US in 1964.

Squeezed between the boomers and Millennials, Generation Xers were born in the late 1960s and 1970s. Coming in after Millennials were members of Generation Z, born after 1996.