100+ Millennial Spending Power & Habits Statistics (2024)

Millennial spending power was $2.5 trillion in 2020, around $100 billion more than Gen X. However, they’re facing different financial challenges than other generations.

Learn from the article:

• How much do millennials earn, and how do they spend their income compared to other generations
• How many millennials own a home, and what are their biggest financial concerns
• How often do millennials use online stores, and which brands see as the most trustworthy

Did you know that many millennials spend up to 45% of their income to pay rent?

Discover other fascinating statistics below.

Fascinating Millennial Spending Statistics

• Millennials’ global spending power was $2.5 trillion in 2020, with $1.4 trillion of disposable income from US millennials alone.
• There were 72.19 million millennials in the US, 81% have a job and earn an average of $3,100 monthly.
• Over 44% of millennials are married, with at least 30% having both a spouse and a child. 47% of millennials have no desire to have a child.
• 4 out of 5 American millennials shop online, with 80% of buyers checking reviews before purchasing.
• The average non-mortgage debt of 72% of American millennials is $117,000, with 6% of them saying they will probably never repay it.
• $126,993 is the average student loan debt among American millennials, with 22% regretting it.
• Less than half of millennials are homeowners, with 24.7% of them saying they will probably rent their homes forever since 77.2% can’t afford to buy one.

Millennials Spending Power

What’s Millennials’ spending power?

• Millennials’ spending power was $2.5 trillion in 2020.

In comparison, Gen X spending power was $2.4 trillion.

Millennial buying power worldwide could increase to $8.3 trillion by 2025.

American millennials had exactly $1.4 trillion of buying power in 2020. Compare that to teen spending data.

(YPulse, Endear, McKinsey, Response)

Millennials spending trend

• American millennials spent $7,825 (or 12.8%) more in 2021 compared to 2020.

Here’s the table of yearly mean expenditures between 2021 and 2017:

However, while millennials earn more money per year, they face higher expenses as well.

On the other hand, they also spent more on “non-vital” expenses like entertainment and apparel, but slightly less on education.

Here’s the table of millennial yearly expenditures between 2021 and 2020 based on category:

How many millennials save money?

• Around 73% of American millennials had savings in 2020, up by 10% compared to 2018.

Here’s a table of how many millennials in the US are saving in general:

In 2015, Bank of America got a more detailed look into how millennials’ parents influenced their saving habits.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

What’s millennials average savings amount?

• 59% of US millennials had at least $15,000 or more in savings in 2020.

That’s 12% more than in 2018.

Average millennial debt

• Up to 72% of American millennials have an average non-mortgage debt of $117,000.

Roughly 90% of millennials had a non-mortgage debt in their life.

A more detailed look into what kind of debts/loans millennials have:

When millennials are asked how long it would take to repay the debt, they said:

• Nearly half (48%) of millennials have an average student loan debt of $126,993.

However, most (54%) owe between $10,000 and $99,999.

• “Not saving enough” is the biggest regret among millennials.

Going into debt and not investing sooner are the second.

How many millennials invest in stocks and crypto?

• Up to 43% of millennials between the ages of 24-34 aren’t investing.

Those who invested:

Not having enough money is the reason why millennials don’t invest.

Millennials are largely investing in retirement.

• 20% of millennial investors have between 1 and 5 stocks or funds.

• 3 out of 5 millennials have crypto investments.

More accurately, that’s 60% of millennials compared to 54% of Gen Z investors.

(Fool)

• Financial and IT sectors are the most popular sectors to invest in among millennials.

Millennial Demographics

How many millennials are in the US?

• There were approximately 72.19 million millennials in the US in 2021.

By that, they surpassed baby boomers, previously the biggest group.

(Statista)

Who are millennials?

Millennials (or Gen Y) are the generation born between 1981 and 1996 (so anyone aged 26 to 41), representing the people who got familiar with new technology at a very early age.

Statistically, millennials are viewed as self-centric individuals that love to hang out on social media. However, they are also willing to embrace changes and are showing care for the environment.

(PRC 6, Bamboo)

According to McKinsey, there are even segments of millennials:

Millennial employment rate

• Up to 81% of millennials in 2020 were employed.

Their average salary was $3,100 per month.

(YPulse)

• When deciding on an employer, millennials value good work/life balance (39%) and learning opportunities (29%).

On top of high pay (27%), of course.

Also, values are important to millennials, with roughly 40% rejecting jobs that don’t align with them.

(Deloitte)

• 75% of millennials prefer to work remotely, with 45% already working at least partially from home.

The main reason is to have more time with their family and other things they care about.

Also, 39% claim remote work saved them money.

(Deloitte)

• Up to 45% of millennials feel burned out due to overworking.

Around 43% said they know people who left their jobs due to overworking.

(Deloitte)

• Roughly 24% of millennials plan to change their jobs in the next 2 years.

Interestingly, 32% will leave the job even if they don’t have any other job offering.

Jobs that millennials are most eager to leave:

What’s the average millennial yearly income?

• The mean yearly income (before tax) of American millennial households in 2021 was $92,324.

For example, the mean millennial household income (before tax) in 2020 was $84,975.

Here’s a mean annual income (before tax) for American millennials from 2021 to 2017:

Here’s the table of mean income in 2021 for different age groups:

• Around 83% of men and 72% of women were employed in 2018.

4% of men and 3% of women were unemployed, whereas 25% of women and 12% of men weren’t in the labor force.

Here’s the distribution of millennial employment in 2018 based on gender:

• Married millennial households earn a median income of $92,000 per year.

Compared to $73,200 of non-married millennial households.

(Yahoo 2)

• 36% of millennials are concerned about their cost of living.

At 25%, changing climate is the second biggest concern.

Marriage and kids in millennial households

• Around 44% of millennials are married.

The median age when millennials get married is 30.4 for men and 28.6 for women.

(Yahoo 2)

• In 2019, 30% of millennials had a spouse and a child, 10% less than Gen X when they were the same age.

Surprisingly, 12% had a child but no spouse.

Millennials:

• Millennial women that already had children in 2018 had an average of 2.02 kids.

The averages are basically identical to Gen X’s 2.07 average and Boomer’s 2.05 average.

(PRC 4)

• 58% of millennial women born between 1982 and 1986 had a child in 2018.

The younger the age, the fewer women had a child.

• 47% of millennials in 2020 had no desire to have children, with 59% saying raising children is too expensive.

53% want to focus on their career, whereas 44% still need to find a suitable partner to have kids with.

12% say they would have kids, but one of the partners can’t have them.

Here’s a breakdown of why millennials don’t have children:

• In 2018, 39% of millennials had at least a bachelor’s degree or higher education.

Gender-wise, 43% of women had a college education compared to 36% of men.

The table shows how educated millennials millennials are:

How Are Millennials Shopping

How many millennials are online shoppers?

• Up to 80% of millennials in the US make most of their purchases online, with 56% using their smartphone for shopping.

(Businesswire)

• 64% of millennial shoppers prefer online instead of the in-store experience, with 81.3% shopping online at least once a month.

Being able to compare products and prices is one of the main reasons that 45% of millennials buy online.

(Invesp)

Do millennials prefer online shopping or in-store shopping?

• Only 32% of millennials worldwide use online ordering as their preferred purchasing method.

A bit more prefer to shop in store.

Here are the preferred buying methods among millennials:

How much do they spend on holidays, like Christmas, compared to other generations

• On average, millennial consumers will spend $855 on presents in 2022.

Or a total of $1,823 on presents, travel and entertainment combined.

That’s the most out of all other generations, with Gen X spending almost $300 less on average.

Here’s a more detailed view on what exactly millennials will spend their holiday money:

Here’s more Christmas spending data to dive into.

How many use “buy now, pay later”

• Up to 30.3% of millennials take advantage of “buy now, pay later” services.

However, Gen Z is slightly ahead of them, with 36.8% using the services.

The table is showing how many people from a specific generation uses “buy now, pay later” services:

How many use credit cards?

• Up to 34% of Millennials have credit cards.

(CNBC 2)

What’s the average credit card debt?

• The average credit card debt among millennials in the US is $5,349.

The survey of one thousand millennials revealed that 67% had credit card debt.

(REW)

• “Paying for everything with a debit card” is why 16% of millennials refuse to have a credit card.

Here’s a table of all reasons not to own a credit card:

How many of them check online reviews?

• 80% of millennials in 2020 always checked online reviews before making a purchase.

That’s up from 71% in 2016.

Up to 53% of them check a product’s details online rather than discussing them with store staff.

(Reuters, Invesp)

Related stats

• 12% of millennials always use coupons when buying online, whereas 16% never use them.

A more precise data on how often do millennials use coupons:

Millennial Favorite Brands

What are the millennial generation’s favorite brands?

• Apple was the most popular brand among American Millennials in 2021.

The research is done by SponsorPulse.

Here are all the companies that are most popular among millennial customers:

• Apple was also the most popular brand in the Business Insider survey in 2021.

The second was Nike.

Here is the ranking on which company is the most popular among millennials:

What makes millennials prefer brands?

• The most important thing that millennials value in brands is their transparency.

Millennial trust is also built based on the following:

• 49% of millennials tend to trust the average American company.

21% have no opinion, whereas 30% of companies still need to earn millennials’ trust.

(Morning Consult 2)

What ads are most effective for marketing to millennials?

• Online video ads are the most effective on millennials.

On the other hand, 31% of millennials don’t engage with online advertising.

Here is a table of what types of online ads are most effective on millennials:

The sum of percentages in the table below is 101%, meaning that some percentages were rounded up or down.

• With 44%, funny ads are the most likely to convince millennials to purchase.

Here’s a table of what ad genres are most effective on millennials:

• One survey found that 44% of millennials bought a product recommended by an online personality (influencer from a social media).

In contrast, 28% of Gen X and boomers did the same.

On the flip side, up to 65% of millennials would be ready to buy a product recommended by a friend on social media.

That’s 40% on the baby boomer’s side.

The survey questioned 1139 Americans.

How millennials and baby boomers differentiate when someone recommends a product online:

• With 75%, most millennials think social media ads are annoying.

(LWC)

Millennial Spending Habits

How do millennials spend their money?

• Millennials spend most money for groceries, with dining out/fast food/take-outs in second place.

Here is where millennials spend most money on in 2020 compared to 2019:

• An average millennial in the US spends $208 per day.

That’s the most out of all generations. The second, Gen X, spends $202 per day.

The $208 represents the sum of various expenses:

• Around 66% (or 2/3) of millennials spend at least $50 when going shopping.

(WWD)

• Millennials from the US and UK are most willing to spend at least $50/£50 when shopping online or in-store compared to Gen X and baby boomers.

Millennials are also the biggest compulsive shoppers.

Here is a detailed breakdown of how millennials, gen X, and baby boomers shop:

• Around 47% of millennials live from paycheck to paycheck.

They also worry that one day their expenses will get too high to cover them.

That’s why 33% of millennials also have a part or full-time job on top of their primary job.

Millennials also worry about:

How many millennials are homeowners, how many rent, and how many live with their parents?

• According to the latest data from the US Census Bureau, 48.6% of millennials own a home.

There are 69.1% Gen X and 78.5% boomer homeowners.

Ownership percentage goes up with age, with 60% of older millennials that turned 40+ years owning a home.

Here are the percentages of homeowners in the US based on generation:

On the other hand, with 43%, millennials currently represent the biggest group of home buyers.

Here’s a more accurate breakdown between younger and older millennials:

• Of those millennials who want to buy a home, 12% plan to buy it in the next 365 days.

In contrast, 30% plan to buy it in the next 5+ years.

Based on the yearly trend, most millennials in 2022 plan to buy a home earlier than the ones from 2018.

Here’s the breakdown of what millennials said about how soon they will buy their home:

• The median age of young millennial home buyers (ages between 23 and 32) is 28 years.

The median age of older millennial home buyers between 32 and 42 is 36 years.

(NAR)

• Almost a quarter of American millennials say they will always rent their homes in 2022.

In 2021, the same thing was said by 21.6% of millennials.

Here’s how that statement changed between 2022 and 2018:

• Not being able to afford to buy a home is the main reason millennials say they will rent forever.

Here are all the reasons why millennials believe they will rent forever:

• 68% of young adults (including millennials) aged 25-34 live in a multi-generational home.

Regarding ownership of multi-generational homes, 63% are owned by millennials’ parents, millennial homeowners represent 15%, and relatives that aren’t millennials’ parents (like grandparents) represent 14% of owners.

The table shows a more detailed view of who is the owner of a multigenerational home where millennials live:

• 57% of millennials buying a home are married couples.

What happens if we separate young from older millennials:

How much money do millennials spend on rent before reaching 30?

• Based on RentCafe research in 2018, millennials spent $92,600 on rent in the span of 8 years (from 22 to 30).

Meanwhile, their median income for the same 8-year period was $206,600, meaning they spent 45% of their income on rent.

Compared to other generations:

How much are they spending on having a home?

• A 2019 survey revealed that 123 (or 31%) of millennial respondents wanting to buy a house were looking to pay up to $199,999.

The least of them wanted to buy houses between $400,000 to $499,999.

The total number of respondents was 517, with 400 wanting to buy a home.

Here’s how much millennials are ready to spend on their home:

• One out of three millennials in the US spend 26% or more of their income on mortgage payments alone.

Ideally, house costs shouldn’t reach over 30% of your income. However, by adding other expenses to the mortgage, those 33% of millennials undoubtedly surpass that 30% line.

(Fool 2)

How much do they spend on travel, eating out, and other leisure activities?

• Millennials spend an average of $139 per month eating out, according to a survey from Sweet Earth Foods.

That’s $1,672 per year.

Two thousand millennials from the survey said they eat around 90 times in restaurants and attend 41 dinner parties in a year.

(NY Post)

• Other data suggests millennials spend up to $3,626, or 46.8% of their yearly food budget, for eating out.

(HowToCook)

• Among millennials aged 18-34 in 2018, 33% were ready to spend more than $5,000 per year for vacations.

In 2016, millennials spent a total of $200 billion on traveling and an average of 35 days per year on vacations.

(Business Insider 2, Travel Pulse, Expedia)

How much do they spend on alcohol?

• Millennials’ mean daily expense on alcohol is $1,75.

That’s $52,4 per month and $629 per year.

(BLS)

Here is a table of mean alcohol expenditures in the US for all generational groups:

• In contrast, a survey by Bankrate.com from 2019 found that the average millennial spent up to $1,741 per year on alcoholic drinks.

(Bankrate)

How much do they spend on clothes?

• American millennials spend, on average, $2,135 (or 3.1% of their yearly income) per year on apparel.

That’s $177,9 per month.

On the other hand, millennials worldwide spent only around $524 a year on clothing.

(BLS, McKinsey)

• Here is a table of mean apparel and services expenditures in the US for all generational groups:

• Up to 66% of millennials are ready to pay more if the clothing is sustainable.

Around 42% want to know how the band made the clothing before purchasing.

(Vue)

How much do they spend on food?

• An average millennial household spends a mean of $8,463 (or 12.3% of their yearly income) per year on food.

That’s $705,25 per month or $23,5 per day.

(BLS)

• Here is a table of mean food expenditures in the US for all generational groups:

Here are the mean numbers of how millennials spent their expenditure in 2021:

Conclusion

These were the most interesting statistics on millennial spending.

As you can see, the millennial generation may be earning comfortable wages, but the rising living expenses are what prevent them from being as ambitious as older generations at the same age.

Do you think millennials have it harder than previous generations? Are your spending habits similar to the average millennial?

Please let us know in the comments.