Gen Z vs.
Millennials
Where one generation ends, the next begins, and comparisons get complicated.
Start with
the birthdays.
The quick answer is in the dates: this site uses 1981–1996 for Millennials and 1997–2012 for Generation Z. Someone born in 1996 is a Millennial here; someone born in 1997 is Gen Z. Generation Y is another name for Millennials.
Side by side.
The ranges used by our calculator, with a full profile for each generation.
Millennials
Gen Y
Born 1981–1996. The generation before Gen Z, spanning the turn of the millennium.
Meet the MillennialsGeneration Z
Gen Z
Born 1997–2012. The next birth cohort in our timeline, followed by Generation Alpha.
Meet Gen ZWhy draw the line
at 1997?
Pew Research Center’s 2019 explanation considers the historical settings in which these groups grew up, including September 11, the Great Recession, and the spread of mobile internet. It sets 1996 as the last Millennial birth year and 1997 as the next generation’s starting year.
That explanation does not set a final birth year for Gen Z. Our 2012 endpoint follows the convention also used by Statistics Canada. Combining those choices gives this calculator a clear timeline; another framework may choose different dates.
Same year.
Different ages.
Take 2020. These are the ages three people turned on their birthdays that year.
Born in 1985
35
A Millennial in our timeline.
Born in 2000
20
Part of Generation Z.
Born in 2010
10
Also Gen Z in our timeline.
All three experienced the same calendar year from different places in life. There is a wide spread within each group, too: the sixteen Millennial birth years cover people who reached adulthood from the late 1990s through the mid-2010s.
A better way
to read a comparison.
A survey of twenty-year-olds and forty-year-olds may reflect age or circumstances. Meaningful comparisons consider people at similar life stages and account for other relevant factors.
- The birth years. Check who the labels actually include.
- The place and date. Find out where people lived and when the research happened.
- The life stage. Notice whether the groups are being compared at similar ages.
- The source. Look for the evidence behind a catchy contrast.
A few more good reads.
About the dates and sources
Pew’s 2019 explanation supplies the Millennial endpoint and Gen Z starting year. Our Gen Z endpoint follows the convention also used by Statistics Canada. Pew’s updated research approach informs the advice about comparisons.
- Pew Research Center: Defining generations
- Statistics Canada: Defining generations
- Pew Research Center: Our approach to generations