--- description: Millennials have much different values and perspectives on adulthood than the generations before them did title: Millennials Want Jobs And Education, Not Marriage And Kids image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt250c0c479b19a7a2/6988c3be196cf40baa03fc29/millennials.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Millennials Want Jobs and Education, Not Marriage and Kids by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2017 4:23 PM CUT  Businesswoman working at laptop in office Businesswoman working at laptop in officeHero Images, Getty Images/Hero Images by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2017 4:23 PM CUT [Millennials](http://time.com/money/4732889/millennials-home-ownership-china-america/ "undefined") in the [United States](http://time.com/4724052/deadly-storms-south-mississippi-south-carolina/ "undefined") have a different set of values on social and economic topics than the [generations before them](http://time.com/4327430/baby-boomers-are-isolating-themselves-as-they-age-thats-bad-for-everyone/ "undefined"), according to a [new report from the U.S. Census Bureau](https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/p20-579.pdf "undefined"). The report compared data about relationships, education and economic accomplishments of modern Americans ages 18 to 34 to those of the same age group in 1975. “What is clear is that today young adults look different from prior generations in almost every regard: how much education they have, their work experiences, when they start a family and even who they live with growing up,” the report said. “It comes as no surprise that when parents recall stories from their youth, they are remembering how different their experiences were.” A large majority of young Americans now believe education and economic accomplishments are extremely important parts of adulthood, and more than half — 55% — believe [marrying](http://time.com/4459032/john-krasinski-emily-blunt-marriage-greatest-achievement/ "undefined") and [having children](http://time.com/3774620/more-women-not-having-kids/ "undefined") is not very important. That mentality differs from the values of 40 years ago. In 1975, 8 in 10 people were married by the time they turned 30\. Now, 8 in 10 are married by the time they turn 45. [_Click here for more articles_](http://time.com/money/topic/looking-forward/ "undefined") _from Time Inc.’s Looking Forward series._ Young women are now making their mark, too, the data shows. In the last 40 years, women have made “considerable economic gains” and progress with employment, while their male peers have seen a decline. Only 14% of modern millennial women are homemakers nowadays, compared to 43% of them in 1975. And that common stereotype of millennials [living at their parents’ homes](http://time.com/3978317/millennials-living-at-home/ "undefined")? It’s true. About 1 in 3 young Americans — 24 million in total — live in their parents’ homes. (Though the data does count college dormitories as their parents’ homes.) “If one theme describes how adulthood has changed over the last 40 years, it is growing complexity,” the report concluded. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4748357/milennials-values-census-report/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4748357/milennials-values-census-report/"},"headline":"Millennials Want Jobs and Education, Not Marriage and Kids","datePublished":"2017-04-20T16:23:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:31:19.683Z","description":"Millennials have a different set of values than older generations","url":"https://time.com/4748357/milennials-values-census-report/","keywords":["millenials","People","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt250c0c479b19a7a2/6988c3be196cf40baa03fc29/millennials.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt250c0c479b19a7a2/6988c3be196cf40baa03fc29/millennials.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Businesswoman working at laptop in office","caption":"Businesswoman working at laptop in office","creditText":"Hero Images, Getty Images/Hero Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4748357/milennials-values-census-report/","name":"Millennials Want Jobs and Education, Not Marriage and Kids"}}]}] ```