There’s a generational tension you can almost feel buzzing through group chats and family dinners. Millennials and Gen Z are often told they complain too much about housing, jobs, debt, and the economy. But when they push back with data and comparisons, one phrase surfaces again and again: “Boomers had it easier.”
At first glance, it sounds like the kind of thing every younger generation says. But when you dig deeper into wages, cost of living, and opportunity gaps, it starts to seem less like a whine and more like a reality check. So, were things really easier for baby boomers? Or are younger generations just struggling to adjust to the modern world?
A Look at the Numbers
It’s easy to romanticize the past, but the numbers don’t lie. In the 1970s and 1980s, buying a house on a single income wasn’t just possible. It was normal. The average home cost in 1970 was around $17,000. Even when adjusted for inflation, it’s nowhere near today’s sky-high real estate prices. Meanwhile, wages were rising steadily, and college tuition wasn’t a financial death sentence.
Today’s younger generations, in contrast, face stagnant wages, crushing student debt, astronomical rent, and the rising cost of basics like groceries, gas, and childcare. A college degree, once a ticket to the middle class, now often leads to years, sometimes decades, of loan repayment without a guaranteed payoff. In short, younger generations aren’t lazy. They’re playing a much harder game.
The Job Market Isn’t What It Used to Be
Boomers came into adulthood during a time when jobs were more stable, pensions were common, and employer loyalty was often rewarded. The idea of staying with one company for 30 years wasn’t a fantasy. It was a plan.
Now? The job market is far more precarious. Gig work, contract roles, and job hopping are the new norm, and it’s not because young people are flaky. Rather, it’s because traditional career ladders have eroded. Benefits like healthcare and retirement plans are increasingly rare outside of corporate or government roles. And even then, burnout is rampant.
Younger workers are often forced to trade security for flexibility, and even those working multiple jobs still struggle to make ends meet. In a system where loyalty is no longer rewarded and upward mobility is elusive, it’s no wonder young people are skeptical of advice like “just work harder.”
The Price of Freedom Has Gone Up
Boomers often talk about pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, but those boots came with fewer barriers. College was affordable, minimum wage had more buying power, and social programs were more robust. Starting a family, buying a house, or traveling the world felt attainable, not aspirational.
Compare that to today’s cost of independence. Moving out at 18 is now a luxury, not a milestone. Rent alone can eat up more than half a paycheck, and inflation has hit everyday expenses harder than headline numbers often show. Young adults aren’t trying to skip steps; the steps just got steeper.
A Cultural Divide in Expectations
There’s also a philosophical split between generations. Many boomers were taught to seek security, like getting a good job, buying a house, and retiring with a pension. That path was supported by the economic conditions of the time.
Younger generations have grown up during recessions, housing crashes, and a pandemic. They’re more skeptical of institutions, more likely to question traditional milestones, and more open to redefining success. But that doesn’t mean they’re not working hard. It just means the world they’re working in has changed. So when boomers scoff at avocado toast or side hustles, it’s less about frivolity and more about misunderstanding how survival looks in 2025.
Resentment or Reality?
It’s easy to dismiss generational critiques as bitterness, but there’s value in acknowledging how different the terrain has become. Boomers didn’t build the system alone, and not all of them are living large. Many are struggling too. But when those who did benefit from easier conditions deny that privilege ever existed, it only deepens the divide. It fuels resentment instead of fostering empathy.
What younger generations are really asking for isn’t revenge. It’s recognition. Acknowledgment that yes, things are harder now. That no, it’s not always a matter of effort. And that maybe, just maybe, the advice they’re getting needs to evolve along with the economy.
Do you think younger generations are right to say boomers had it easier, or are they missing something important? How can we bridge the generational divide?
Read More:
Why Boomers Are Downsizing—and What Younger Buyers Can Learn From It
14 Great Habits Baby Boomers Still Do And So Should You
Riley is an Arizona native with over nine years of writing experience. From personal finance to travel to digital marketing to pop culture, she’s written about everything under the sun. When she’s not writing, she’s spending her time outside, reading, or cuddling with her two corgis.