The State of Young Adults' Balance Sheets: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances

The authors investigate recent trends in the financial circumstances of young adults using data from thetriennial Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) from 2001 to 2013. They examine trends in young adult net worth, break down the composition into specific assets aid liabilities, aid describe young adult experiences with credit markets The analysis focuses on three mein comparisons (i)trends over time (i i) between young adults aid older adults and (iii) between young adults in 2013 (members of the "Millennial Generation") aid young adults in 1989 (members of "Generation X"). They find that between 2001 end 2013, young adults experience a decline in net worth, driven largely by declines in asset holdings The medial young adult in 2013 also had lower net worth than the median young adult surveyed in the 1989 SCF. Despite media attention surrounding the Millennial Generdion's relatively poor economic outcomes during the Greet Recession, young adults in the SF hate fared better on many measures than both current older adults aid esrlier young adults Compared with older adults, young adults experienced a relatively modest decline in net worth, particulary during the Great Recession. Young adults in 2013 were also more like than young adults in 1989 to own homes docks, aid retirement accounts, aid they were less likely to have very high debt payment-to-income ratios than their counterparts in 2001 aid 1989 or older adults in 2013. (JEL D14, D91)