Young adults' economic and family milestones today vs. 30 years ago | Pew Research Center
Young adults today are coming of age in a different economic and social landscape than their parents did. To understand how things have changed, we used government data to analyze the shares of today’s young adults reaching certain key milestones and how that compares with 30 years ago, when their parents were around the same age. We looked at the following: Young adults today are much more likely than their counterparts 30 years ago to be college graduates. Among young adults ages 25 to 29 today, 40% have completed at least a bachelor’s degree. This share is slightly higher among adults ages 30 to 34 (44%). By comparison, only 24% of young adults ages 25 to 29 and 30 to 34 had a four-year college degree or more education in 1993. Young women have made greater gains in this area than young men. From 1993 to 2023, the share of young women ages 25 to 34 with at least a four-year college degree rose from 23% to 47%. Among young men, the increase was smaller (from 24% to 38%). The college
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