With the primaries behind us and the midterm election just over two months away, both Republican and Democratic candidates know Gen Z voters will be crucial in who takes control of Congress.
Gen Z is the demographic group born roughly between 1997 and 2012, making them between 14 and 29 years old. They follow millennials, and are often called “digital natives” because they grew up in the smartphone and social media age. Not only that, they are also highly ethnically and racially diverse and tend to have broad support for social justice and LGBTQ+ rights. Perhaps most notably, their views have been shaped largely by economic instability ranging from the Great Recession to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turns out, that economic instability may be a large driver when it comes to this year’s midterm elections.
Consider this: Recently, at Young America’s Foundation’s Freedom at 250 conference in Washington, D.C., conservative college students told Fox News Digital reporters they have concerns about economic pressures ranging from inflation to the housing crunch. They noted that’s why they believe many of their peers are turning to democratic socialism.
Take housing for instance. When it comes to the housing crunch, there’s good reason for Gen Z voters to be worried about their futures.
Nearly nine in 10 adults (89 percent) under the age of 40 say it’s harder for them to buy a home today than it was for their parents’ generation, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. And they’re not wrong.
Now before you say that these “kids” are just spending all their money on coffee drinks and avocado toast, let’s look at some numbers.
Since 2019, home prices in the United States have risen faster than young adults’ incomes, both at the national level and in most metropolitan areas around the country, according to an analysis of government data.
The best way to measure home affordability is to compare the median price of a home with the median household income. This is expressed as the price-to-income ratio.
Now, between 2019 and 2024, the inflation-adjusted median home value rose 30 percent, from $269,600 to $350,000. Meanwhile, inflation-adjusted median household income for households headed by those under the age of 40 rose only 9 percent, from $92,700 to $100,900.
I’m not the world’s greatest mathematician, but I know that an increase of about $8,000 in income isn’t going to equate to me being able to purchase the same house that costs $80,000 more.
Plus, being able to afford a home depends more on just the price of a house. There are mortgage rates, property taxes and home insurance which have all gone up in recent years. Not to mention, monthly costs which have also risen, such as utilities and basic maintenance upkeep.
And what about the down payment?
According to the Pew Research Center study, in 2019, if a homebuyer made a 3.5 percent down payment and had a mortgage rate of 3.9 percent on a $269,900 home, the monthly cost would have been $1,689. But in 2024, with the same 3.5 percent down payment, and mortgage rates up to 6.7 percent, the same home now costs $350,000, and the monthly costs would be $2,776.
And this just touches on buying a home, not even the entirety of the cost of living which also includes food, transportation, health care, child care, utilities, phone, clothing and other basic necessities — all of which have increased faster than wages.
About 30.2 million jobs in this country paid less than $15 per hour as of 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that represents 20.4 percent of the total national employment. Jobs paying $15-$19.99 per hour were more common at 22.8 percent of total employment. Jobs paying $20-$24.99 made up 15 percent of employment. All together, nearly 6 in 10 jobs in this country paid less than $25 per hour.
We have an affordability crisis in this country, which includes housing prices and cost of living that has far exceeded wages. Even at the top end of that price scale — $25 an hour — a single person cannot buy the median priced home at $350,000. Good luck even getting into a so-called starter home in most housing markets. It’s something many of you who live in Northern Michigan have known for years.
So yes, affordability is a real issue, across the board, no matter what your age. This isn’t a made-up concept as some may want you to believe. And for many in the Gen Z generation, the so-called American Dream isn’t much of a reality these days.
To those who are running for office? You better start listening — Gen Z is paying attention. And it’s Gen Z voters on both sides of the aisle who are worried about their futures and how they’re going to afford it.
Rachel Brougham is the former assistant editor of the Petoskey News-Review. You can email her at racheldbrougham@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Affordability is a real issue for Generation Z | Opinion
Reporting by Rachel Brougham, Community Columnist / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rachel Brougham, Community Columnist | USA TODAY Network
