Where did the generation definitions come from?
First, the generation labels originated with the Pew Research Center which today says they are de-emphasizing the labels as they did prove useful as intended and have become a source of divisiveness, pitting generations against one another.
See How we plan to report on generations moving forward | Pew Research Center
The Generation Groups Are Largely Arbitrary
Second, the generation groups are arbitrary – based originally off the end of WW2 – and then ending when the birth rate of the post war “baby boom” began to drop – creating an 18 yearlong generation. Subsequent, and preceding generations were then marked of from this arbitrary timeline. The “Baby Boom” is the only officially designated generation, from the US Census Bureau. All other generations were invented by the Pew Research Center.
Traditionally, a “generation” is 20 years. But in generation naming, the length is mostly arbitrary and not the same for each “generation”. Which illustrates the absurdity of generation labels and classification.
Data source: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Different Generations
Who is Gen Z?
Gen Z are those born from 1997 to 2010 or 2009 or 2012. Pew says it’s 2012.
Most important point here: As of 2025, by those definitions, the youngest members are 13 to 16 years old, and the average age is about 21 years old.
When we talk of Gen Z and housing costs, this is primarily an issue for the oldest members of Gen Z both in terms of renting or buying housing.
Historically, the average of a first home buyer – has always been older than the current oldest members of Gen Z:
The median age of the US population in the 1950s through the 1990s was about 29 – and the median age in 2025 is 39 – the entire population has gotten much older. And of course, the “average age” means some first-time buyers are younger and some are older.
The majority of Gen Z is not yet in the housing market and definitely not to the level of home buying. The leading edge is at the earliest phase of buying homes – and since 2020, home prices have shot up due to government policies that appear to have driven inflation upwards, while building fewer homes. Homes are probably overpriced and likely to fall back in a regression to the mean.
