This is from Neil Howe at Lifecourse.com:
We ran these number per Census as of July of this year for everyone age 18+. They are cut exactly according to our birthyear boundaries:G.I. (born 1901-1924), 4.5 millionSilent (born 1925-1942), 26.2 millionBoomer (born 1943-1960), 65.6 million[X], 88.5 millionMillennial (born 1982-2004) 18+, 52.0 millionTotal: 236.8 million.Subtract this from the current total U.S. pop (around 311.8 million) gives you 75.0 million under age 18. That’s about 4.2 million per cohort, which is just under the recent birth per year totals. Again give a bit of allowance for immigration. So that fits.Also, nearly 2/3 of these cohorts under age 18 are Millennials, which gives you nearly 100 million total Millennials–so that fits. The remaining 25-30 million are Homelanders.
But I thought we GenX'ers were the minority. This has us at the highest with 88.5 mil. Did a bunch of Boomers kick the bucket?
@Stinson – Millennials will be bigger than us, but our generation is bigger than the Boomers, just more spread out (and less culturally influential). Immigration, the number of years of our generation (20) and population increases probably all contribute to this effect. I wonder if Millennials will be the first American generation to be smaller than the one before it. Also note that these are current numbers, so age is also a factor.
Very strange set of statistics. All the statistics I have read are along these lines and even Strauss Howe say the 13th generation is the smallest generation.
Boomer 80mm
13th 46mm
Millennial about 70mm
I would like your numbers better because it says there is still demand for stocks and other property that could be filled by the 13th thus supporting prices for retiring Boomers… wishful thinking but doubtful.
Ok, so if we GenX’ers out number both the boomers AND the millenials, how come we are so ignored or MIA from the culture?
The years of the generations don’t match any others that I have seen. Boomers stopping at 1960 instead of 1964? That moves a whole lot of people into Gen X and a whole lot out of the boomers, making Gen X bigger than the boomers. EVERY other report I’ve seen has Gen X about 10 million smaller than the Boomers. What gives?
Neil Howe and William Strauss pegged the dates for Gen X as 1961 -1981. Although this does not follow the traditional demographic definition, their definition is about cultural changes. Read the book “The Fourth Turning” for a full understanding of their generational breakdowns.
Census bureau has Gen X at 66 million and boomers at 77 million