Gen Z Out-Earns Millennials Across the Income Distribution After Inflation

Adjusted for inflation, Gen Z is earning more than Millennials did at comparable stages across every percentile of the income distribution.
That means the improvement is not limited to top earners.
Real incomes are reportedly higher for lower-, middle- and higher-income Gen Z workers compared with Millennials.
The data challenges the idea that younger workers are universally worse off than the generation immediately before them.
But higher income does not necessarily translate into greater financial security.
Housing prices, mortgage rates, education costs and other major expenses can still leave younger households facing much higher barriers to building wealth.
That distinction matters.
Gen Z can simultaneously earn more in inflation-adjusted terms while finding homeownership and asset accumulation more difficult than Millennials did.
The broader question is therefore not simply whether younger workers earn more, but how much purchasing power those earnings provide after the cost of major life expenses.