Gen Z started building wealth at 19—13 years before boomers did. Most still say they can’t get ahead

Gen Z followed the yellow brick road.

But playing by the rules hasn’t gotten them where they hoped.

The youngest generation in the workforce reports starting to build wealth at 19 on average, according to U.S.

Bank’s 2026 Wealth Survey of 5,000 U.S. adults, conducted June 15 through July 1.

Millennials began at 25, Gen X at 29, and boomers at 32.

Building wealth, though, doesn’t always equal building stability.

That’s exactly the case here.

According to the same survey, 56% of Gen Z say they did everything “right” but still aren’t where they hoped to be financially.

Sixty-two percent say they struggle to make financial headway.

And although Gen Z and millennials are the generations most likely to name homeownership as a top five-year financial priority, 29% of Gen Z and 26% of millennials say they’ve given up on owning a home for financial reasons.

Gen Z and millennials aren’t losing out on financial security because of an addiction to avocado toast.

The traditional path simply doesn’t deliver what it used to—and for employers trying to attract and keep young talent, that matters.

Why isn’t Gen Z’s head start paying off? Start with housing.

In 2025, the median existing single-family home sold for nearly five times the median household income—4.7, to be exact—according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies’ The State of the Nation’s Housing 2026 report.