The Top 10% of Millennials in Canada hold 55% of their generation’s wealth

Found this infographic on StatsCan comparing Gen X with Millennials, and what really caught my eye was the bottom graph:

Millennials in the top 10% had accumulated $588,600 in net worth and even more, they held 55% of the total wealth for their generation.

Wow. Being an older millennial (the cutoff was 1980), I am surprised and not surprised.

Guilty as charged.

The richer cohort in recent years across all age groups, has been getting.. well, richer. Across the board, we have more money, period.

You can read more about how millennials are doing in the study here, but the highlights are as follows:

Compared to Gen-Xers, the mortgage debt is much higher

Young Gen-Xers had an 80% debt to after-tax income ratio, but millennials had 216%.

Median mortgage debt reached $218,000 or over 2.5X the value of their median income ($83,200).

But bigger mortgages, mean a bigger net worth as well, as those without homes, don’t fare as well.

Homeowners have higher net worths, especially in Toronto or Vancouver

However, without that mortgage debt, our median wealth would not be as high.

Median wealth for homeowners aged 30 – 34 was $261,900 and those without houses: $18,400, a difference of $243,500, almost a quarter of a million.

Those who lived in Toronto or Vancouver, had a higher net worth than all the rest of the country:

• Median Canadian Millennial Median Net Worth: $70,600
• Median Toronto Millennial Median Net Worth: $145,000
• Median Vancouver Millennial Median Net Worth: $91,000

Vancouver was surprising to me, I thought it would have a higher median net worth than Toronto.

These differences were pronounced when the principal residence asset values reached $650,000 in Vancouver and Toronto, more than double the levels observed at the national level ($320,000).

Those with more than a high school education also have a higher net worth

This is not a surprise to anyone, right?

• Median net worth with a degree: $116,000
• Median net worth with high school degree or less: $34,100

Millennials also beat out Gen-Xers, with $66,500 in household income versus Gen-Xer’s at $51,000 in 1999.

The top 10% hold 55% of the generational wealth

The top 10% in Vancouver or Toronto had almost $1M in net worth. Like me, but I am an outlier in Montreal.

In comparison, the median net worth is again:

• Canada: $70,600
• Toronto: $145,000
• Vancouver: $91,000

For some comparison:

• Bottom 25% Millennial Net Worth: $9500 versus Gen-X at $6200
• Top 25% Millennial Net Worth: $253,900 versus Gen-X at $126,900

 

Conclusion

We have more money and net worth than previous generations, due to home ownership (mostly because housing prices have skyrocketed), and those with higher educations have a higher net worth.

I am definitely not surprised by any of this.

The real ‘winners’ are living in Toronto and Vancouver mostly, but I suspect their net worths are really tied into their house prices going up more than anything else.

It is why I am so concentrated on getting my home as a smaller percentage of my overall net worth, down to 25% of my portfolio, rather than the 31% it is at right now. This is all tied to the stock market (if my portfolio dips, but my house stays the same municipal value, that sucks).

Thoughts?