Who Are the Millennials?
Dr. Michele Lee Kozimor-King
Elizabethtown College
Question #1
• Which of these is another name for the
Millennials?
▫ The New Boomers
▫ The Boomerang Generation
▫ Generation Y
▫ Peter Pan Generation
The Generation of Many Names
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Millennials (most popular in the media)
Generation Me
Net Generation
New Boomers (children of the Baby Boomers)
Echo Boomers
Generation Y (placeholder name)
Generation 9/11
Global Generation
Generation We
Start-Up Generation
Generation Next
Boomerang Generation
Peter Pan Generation
Question #2
• Those born between the following years
comprise the Millennials?
▫ 1983-2001
▫ 1980-1993
▫ 1982-1999
▫ 1980-2000
Demographic Details
• Millennials are the demographic cohort following
Generation X
• No consensus definition; most commonly refers to
those born between 1980 – 2000 (1983- 2001)
• Most common age bracket referred to is 18 to 34
• As of 2012, there were approximately 80 million
(about 23- 25 % of U.S. Population) Millennials
Question #3
• The Millennial Generation is larger (population
size) than which other generational cohort?
▫ The Baby Boomers
▫ The Good Warriors
▫ Generation X
▫ Lucky Few
Children of Baby Boomers and
Generation X
Source: U.S. Census/Population Reference Bureau
Question #4
• Which of the following is NOT one of the
common characteristics of Millennials?
▫ Empowered by Digital Technology
▫ Delayed Demographic Transitions
▫ Conservative and Conformist
▫ Most Educated Generation
Generational Characteristics
Source: Markus Moos (2014)
Common Characteristics
How do we distinguish Millennials from other generations?
• High Degree of Parental Involvement: Parental safety net;
co-dependent; “helicopter parents”
• Empowered by Digital Technology **
• Slow to Adulthood – delayed demographic transitions
like marriage and child-bearing
• Education – most educated generation; most debt
• Customize and Personalize Everything
• Collaboration and Relationship Generation – Networks
• Need for Speed
• Value Social Justice and Corporate Integrity
• Want entertainment and play in all areas of life
What Do the Millennials Want?
Michael Shields, M.A.
Northeastern University
Conflicts of Interest
• The statements and viewpoints presented today
do not reflect the opinions of Northeastern
University.
National Trends
• The most transient population to date
▫ Accounted for 43.5% of all movers in US in 2010-2012
(Benetsky et al. 2015)
• Millennials prefer urban living
▫ Two-Thirds of 25-34 years old with a B.A. live in the
nation’s 51 largest metro areas (Cortright 2015)
▫ Account for a 37% of population increase in three mile
radius of city centers since 2000 (Cortright 2015)
• They are predominantly renters
▫ Construction of multifamily units (condos and rentals) is
at its highest level in 25 years (Searcey 2014)
Question #5
• Which of these characteristics do Millennials
want in their neighborhoods?
▫ Walkability
▫ Access to public transportation
▫ Want to be able to use their car
▫ Many cultural amenities
Place-Based Economics
• Walkable neighborhoods
▫ But only willing to walk a half-mile or less
• Creative and cultural amenities
▫ Access to cultural venues, nightclubs, hip local businesses, and high-tech playscapes
• Green space
▫ Because of their socialization in the suburbs
• Want strong anchor amenities
▫ Good schools, housing, social services, etc.
• Denser and racially/ethnically diverse neighborhoods
▫ Spur large waves of gentrification
• Want to use public transportation
▫ But still want to use their car when necessary
• Want to have the choice to relocate at a moments notice
▫ Always on the move, so don’t want to be contracted to be in an area for long
periods of time
• Will choose an area of higher lifestyle appeal over area with high job
prospects
▫ Will factor-in expenses
▫ Have the parental safety-net
Pennsylvanian Millennials
• Surveyed 339 undergraduate Millennial students from five
representative institutions across the state
• Asked them to rate characteristics of their ideal-future residences
and neighborhoods
• Also asked them to provide characteristics of their “childhood”
neighborhoods
• Replicated national surveys from the NAR and the GSS
What do Pennsylvania’s Millennials
Want?
• 42.2% wanted to live in a city, while
28.8% wanted to live in a mixed-use
suburban neighborhood
• 89.8% stated that neighborhood
amenities would affect their residential
choice over house amenities
• 45.4% wanted to live in established
neighborhoods with older homes and
mature trees
Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA
• 42% wanted everything in the
neighborhood to be in walking distance
from the home
• 45.9% would still want to have a car
South Side, Pittsburgh, PA
A Real World Example
• Belmar development in Lakewood, CO
• Five miles Southwest of Denver
• Failing mall
▫ “asphalt desert”
▫ “civic embarrassment”
• Public-Private Partnership to attract Millennials
to the area
The Take-Aways
• The social landscape is changing, but is this the
result of the Millennials
• Millennials want amenities – particularly
neighborhood amenities
• Battleground for first-ring suburbs and small towns
• Still exploratory findings
▫ See the later members of Generation X to predict
Millennials’ future preferences
References
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