Welcome to the Millennial Squeeze
Millennials—those born between 1981 and 1996—were promised the American Dream. Go to college, get a job, buy a home, retire comfortably. But here in 2025, that dream is hanging by a thread.
Home prices are out of reach. Wages haven't kept up with costs. Retirement feels like a fantasy. And while the rich get richer, millennials are drowning in debt, rising rents, and economic uncertainty.
This isn’t some fluke. It’s the result of a system that rewards wealth and punishes work—leaving millennials stuck in an economy designed for someone else’s success.
Locked Out of the Housing Market
Millennials are falling behind on the #1 route to building wealth in America: homeownership.
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At age 30, just 42% of millennials own homes, compared to 48% of baby boomers at the same age.
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The national home price-to-income ratio was 4.7 in 2024, up from 3.5 a decade ago. In high-cost states like California, it’s soared to 8.4, and in Hawaii, a staggering 9.1.
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The income needed to buy a median-priced home in the US is now over $115,000 per year—nearly double the current median household income of $67,500.
For millennials earning average salaries and facing record student debt, buying a home is less "starter pack" and more "pipe dream".
Wages That Go Nowhere
While costs have exploded, wages haven’t kept up.
- Since 2000, median home prices have risen 162%, but median incomes only rose 78%.
- Adjusted for inflation, the typical US household has seen only a 7% income increase since 2000—equivalent to just 0.3% per year.
So even when millennials earn more on paper, it doesn’t stretch far enough to cover the soaring costs of housing, childcare, healthcare, and food.
Retirement is a Cruel Joke
Forget beach houses and early retirement—many millennials are on track for working into their 70s.
- The average retirement account balance for millennials is about $12,000, compared to $40,000 for Gen X at the same age.
- Fewer millennials have access to employer pensions, and many juggle student loan repayments that eat into long-term savings.
The retirement gap between generations is widening—and millennials are losing.
So... Where Did All the Money Go?
It didn’t disappear. It just moved—upwards.
During COVID and the years that followed, trillions were pumped into financial markets. But the overwhelming majority of that wealth ended up with the ultra-rich, inflating the value of stocks, luxury property, and private equity.
Meanwhile, millennials got higher rent, pricier groceries, and tax bills that keep rising. The rich got assets. Millennials got austerity.
The Passive Income Pyramid Scheme
Here’s the hard truth: the economy isn’t broken. It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to—make the rich richer.
- Wealthy individuals collect rent, dividends, and capital gains.
- Millennials pay rent, service debt, and struggle to save.
- The rich own the economy. Millennials work in it.
This creates a vicious cycle. As inequality rises, the wealthy have more passive income to buy up even more assets—pricing younger Americans further out of wealth.
What Does This Mean for the Millennial Future?
- Homeownership rates will continue to fall unless radical housing reform is enacted.
- The wealth gap will widen, not shrink, unless wealth is taxed and redistributed.
- Retirement will become unachievable for anyone without inheritance or luck.
- Political power will skew older and wealthier, reinforcing policies that entrench inequality.
We’re witnessing the slow dispossession of a generation.
It's Time to Get Angry
Millennials have been told they’re broke because they order avocado toast or skip side hustles. Nonsense.
This is systemic theft. A rigged economy. A pyramid scheme where the base supports the top—and the top gets richer while blaming the rest.
It's time for millennials to stop internalising failure and start demanding fairness. The future isn’t just being lost—it’s being taken.