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Breaking Down Millennial Money

Millennial, homeowner, movingMillennials are discussed at length in the housing industry. What do they like? What don’t they? Do they even have interest in buying? All the questions tend to look at the group as a whole, but what about the breakdown between millennial men and women? They differ more than you think.

According to a recent report by LendingTree, men and women born from 1980 to 1995 are quite different when it comes to debt, credit score, income, and more. One of the more generally known topics is that males make more than their female counterpart. The study reported the average income for the millennial man was $53,220, but the average woman was slightly lower at $46,990—a 13.5 percent difference. Though millennials are known to prefer renting to buying, of those that have purchased homes, men also had a higher percentage. Women were found to be twice as likely as men to live with friends or family rent-free with only 44 percent owning homes. Over half of men—56 percent—are homeowners.

Interestingly enough, though women have a higher average debt amount, they take the lead when it comes to credit score. The average total debt for women is $68,834 with $14,758 of that coming from student loan debt. Men had an average total debt of $53,017 with $8,500 coming from student debt. Men are also more confident about their ability to pay off their debt—likely because they make more and have less. On a scale of one to five, with five being the most confident, the average for men was 3.67 while women sat at 3.31. Similarly, men rate their financial satisfaction at a 3.54 while women rate theirs at 2.99.

Compared to only 30 percent of men, 36 percent of women have a credit score of 700 or higher though at least 18 percent of both groups admit they don’t know their credit score. Despite the difference in pay, the top priority for men in their finances was increasing their income, while women place priority on putting more into savings. However, the second choice for both groups was the number one choice for the opposite.

About Author: Brianna Gilpin

Brianna Gilpin, Online Editor for MReport and DS News, is a graduate of Texas A&M University where she received her B.A. in Telecommunication Media Studies. Gilpin previously worked at Hearst Media, one of the nation's leading diversified media and information services companies. To contact Gilpin, email [email protected].
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