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Posted on 04/25/2025 6:40:18 PM PDT by Red Badger
A recent survey conducted by Harvard’s Institute of Politics reveals a stark reality for young Americans: 42% of those under 30 report they are “barely getting by” financially, with only 16% saying they are doing well or very well.
This alarming statistic, drawn from a poll of 2,096 adults aged 18 to 29 conducted between March 14 and 25, 2025, underscores the economic challenges facing Generation Z and young Millennials.
The Harvard Youth Poll, as reported by CNBC, NBC New York, and NBC DFW, indicates that roughly two in five young Americans are either “struggling to make ends meet” or “getting by with limited security.”
This financial precarity is particularly acute for certain demographics. Women, with 47% reporting financial struggles compared to 37% of men, face heightened challenges, according to Spectrum News.
Similarly, 52% of young Latinos and 50% of those without a college degree say they are struggling, compared to 35% of college students and 29% of college graduates.
These disparities reflect structural barriers, including lower earnings and limited access to higher-paying jobs for non-degree holders.
Posts on X further amplify the sentiment, with users like @HarvardIOP and @NewYorkSun noting the poll’s findings and linking them to broader disillusionment, including declining support for congressional Democrats among young voters.
While these posts reflect public discourse, they alone do not substantiate the data but highlight its resonance.
While the Harvard survey does not pinpoint specific causes, multiple sources suggest that persistent inflation, the resumption of student loan payments, and low starting salaries are squeezing young adults.
CNBC and NBC outlets report that the cost of essentials—food, shelter, and transportation—has surged, with inflation driving up prices by nearly 21% since February 2020.
John Bell, a certified financial planner quoted in these reports, emphasizes that many young people graduate with significant college debt, often entering careers that do not pay enough to cover both loans and basic living expenses.
The Washington Post, in a related 2023 article, provides context on rising costs, noting that everyday expenses like meals and home maintenance have increased significantly, further straining budgets.
For example, the cost of a typical lunch has risen by over 30% in some cases, and property taxes have jumped, impacting even those who have paid off mortgages. These trends disproportionately affect younger adults, who are less likely to have accumulated savings or assets.
The Harvard findings align with other research indicating growing financial strain among young Americans.
A January 2025 Credit One Bank survey, cited by CNBC and NBC, found that 39% of Gen Z adults feel stressed about their finances, the highest of any generation, with low confidence in their financial control.
Additionally, a 2022 New York Times article highlights a decline in economic mobility, noting that only 50% of Americans born in 1980 are likely to out-earn their parents, compared to 92% of those born in 1940.
This fading “American Dream” exacerbates the sense of financial insecurity among the young.
CNN, in a 2024 report, adds that even higher earners are not immune, with 41% of Americans aged 18 to 35 expressing concern about making ends meet, compared to just 22% of those over 65.
This suggests that financial pressure is pervasive across income levels for younger generations, driven by rising costs and stagnant wages relative to inflation.
The Harvard poll, as covered by Spectrum News and Political Wire, also reveals broader social and political discontent.
Only 19% of young Americans trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time, and support for policies like tariffs and Gaza redevelopment is low, at 19% and 14%, respectively.
This distrust, coupled with financial hardship, may contribute to the reported skepticism about the value of college education, as noted in a 2022 Bloomberg report, where only 56% of young adults felt their degrees were worth the cost.
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Under thirty is when you find out what the real world is like and what you are made of...............
A lot of Boomers utterly fail to see how much the economy has changed. It’s NOT the same.
When I start seeing young people using flip-phones then I’ll believe they’re struggling, rather than spending their money stupidly.
I like to look at living costs decades ago, compare that to the rate of inflation , and compare that to what various types of jobs paid years ago. I think that gives you a good starting point to see what young people face nowadays. The world has changed. Young people face more difficulties making ends meet than people did decades ago.
It isnt the same.
However, we can also say the young people of today are not close to the young people 40 years ago. Made of much less sterner stuff.
Just judging by the number of young, homeless people wandering around our state university town, I know it’s pretty bad.
Lifestyles are different today. Cigarettes were $1.25 a pack, gas was around $1.00 per gallon, and a tap beer cost $1.75.
When I was young, instead of trips, fancy watches or a fancy car, I paid off my student loan. These days, a student loan is almost as much as a house. I think life was cheaper back in the 1980-2000. I know that I had more fun back in the day!
And they blame ‘Boomers’! It’s all the Boomers fault. The Boomers stole everything. Oh, can you read cursive or a wall clock?
My stepdaughter attended a Community College and obtained a certificate in respiratory therapy. She and her husband lived in a trailer while her husband built their first house. The manage their money well, and live a good life. It can be done.
The lingering Biden destruction of American wealth.
Same as it ever was.
Trump’s Agenda.... bottlenecking:
* Interest rates (construction 🏗️ , business)
* Judges
* Government debt
When I started my first job in 1962, every young colleague owned a house!
Because we worked in manufacturing industry where wages are much better than retail or clerical workers.
I could afford Florsheim leather shoes and any dress suit I desired.
Now retailing is biggest part of US economy.Manufacturing is by far biggest wealth creator in a country unless your country has sea of oil underneath. No wonder young people are stretched with affordability.
China went from a poor country 50 years ago to biggest economy in the world based on purchasing power index, by focus on manufacturing.
We lived in a 1968 Trailer for 21 years..................
When I was growing up married couples went out to eat on special occasions - not 6 or 7 times a week. Delivery food didn’t exist’...
Check out a house built in the 1940’s and you’ll see there’s almost no closet space - because people didn’t own that many clothes - and as kids we were taught how to ‘mend’ clothes that got torn. No one would do that today...
Well stated!
Although I’d say in my case 50 years.
I remember laying on a cardboard box
atop six inches of snow to change out the broken
rear end of our only family transportation
a 1969 Pinto station wagon.
Do kids even consider that today?
I repaired it and it worked for many years.
I never missed a day of work.
I think my costs at the time were $300 for junkyard parts parts and a few six packs of beer.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zYp0YVc0c-E
1 minute video. This guy explains that someone making minimum wage in 1980 was better off than a college graduate today.
Young people today do have it tough. Hard to make ends meet. And the career ladders are largely gone. Middle Management has been hollowed out so moving up in the world is much tougher. Your entry level job is likely to be a deadend job. There you are: it will never get better for you. A lot of young people see that the game is rigged heavily against them and so they no longer try. What’s the point? And Boomers who are outraged at anyone spending $7 for a coffee? Maybe not smart, but nobody should act like Gen Z can buy a house today if they just stop buying coffee. I would have to say that they buy the $7 coffee because there is really no reason NOT to. It’s all pointless anyway. So enjoy the coffee.
Yes, things cost a LOT,now, they do for EVERYONE. But it is hardly something new! There have always been good times and bad times in the past, when people STRUGGLED.
In the mid-80s, my frugal uncle told me I could save money by not buying “fancy checks”, meaning the ones with pictures and artwork on them. I was partial to the wildlife ones with deer and elk on them.
He actually told me I could save $2 every six months by buying plain old boring checks, and that was an important cost-saving decision in his mind.
Nice, and you could save even more by buying 3rd party checks, rather than buying them from one’s bank.
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