11 Statistics That Will Enrage All Twentysomethings Everywhere

Rising college costs, crippling student loans, and the worst economy since the Great Depression. You should have been born 10 years earlier.

1. The number of twentysomethings with full-time jobs has gone down.

gallup.com

According to a July Gallup poll, 43.6% of Americans ages 18 to 29 have a full-time job.

2. The cost of a college degree is higher than ever.

motherjones.com

When compared with the price of consumer goods, the cost of a four-year college degree has increased sharply, so it's more than just inflation.

3. 41% of college graduates say their job doesn't even require a college degree.

gallup.com

Four out of 10 college grads say they don't need a degree for the job they're doing, according to an August Gallup poll. Overall, 57% of all U.S. workers say their job doesn't require a college degree.

4. Student loan debt has nearly quadrupled in a decade.

motherjones.com

Ten years ago, outstanding student loan debt totaled $240 billion. Today, it's $1 trillion.

5. 44% of college graduates are underemployed.

theatlantic.com

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in June that just under half of all recent college graduates were working in jobs that did not require their degree.

6. The number of twentysomethings still living with their parents has gone up.

prb.org

Factors that have driven more young people to live at home include declining employment, rising college enrollment, and a declining marriage rate, according to Pew.

7. The median household income has decreased in all but nine states.

buzzfeed.com

Unless you live in Washington, D.C., North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Montana, Nebraska, Maryland, or Iowa, your state's median household income has gone down.

8. Many twentysomethings have postponed major life decisions because of the economy.

pewsocialtrends.org

According to Pew, young people are having a hard time reaching basic financial milestones, and 2 out of 10 said they postponed marriage or parenthood because of the economy.

9. The number of college graduates who work minimum-wage jobs has skyrocketed since the recession began.

blogs.wsj.com

There were 284,000 college graduates who worked minimum-wage jobs in 2012, according to The Wall Street Journal.

10. Half don't think Social Security will exist by the time they retire.

iomechallenge.org

Not only do 50% of 18- to 29-year-olds not think Social Security will exist by the time they're 67, 52% say they don't save for their retirement now because they're too concerned with their current financial situation, according to a St. Norbert College Strategic Research Institute study.

11. The percentage of parents who think their children's standard of living will be better than theirs has gone down.

pewsocialtrends.org

Parents are still more likely to say they believe their children's standard of living will be better than theirs, but they're much more pessimistic.