CBS: Younger Dutch generally richer than their parents, with home ownership the main exception

# What CBS found

At specific ages the differences can be substantial. For example, people born between 1970 and 1985 had average purchasing power of €44,100 at age 45 (in 2024 prices) — about 40% more than baby boomers had at the same age.

Wealth gains have tracked purchasing-power increases and were driven mainly by rising house prices for decades. That housing-driven wealth accumulation lifted many cohorts, with millennials seeing the sharpest rise in their 30s of any generation. Recent inflation, however, has pushed some of those gains back down.

# Housing is the main exception

Home ownership does not follow the same clear upward pattern. CBS identifies the 1970–1985 generation as the most likely to own a home "at age of life," while younger adults face different dynamics. The number of 25–35-year-olds who still live with their parents has risen in recent years, a shift CBS links to the housing shortage and higher house prices.

Younger generations also tend to spend a smaller share of their income on housing and are more likely to live in flats rather than owner-occupied houses. That combination — higher house prices, more people renting or living at home, and different housing types — complicates direct comparisons of wealth that depend heavily on property values.

# Early-career and lifecycle differences

CBS finds that up to around age 30, millennials and Generation Z hold less wealth than earlier generations did at the same age. Two concrete reasons are given: more young adults stay in education for longer, and they typically start earning later. Over the course of a lifetime, though, the purchasing power and wealth indicators for younger generations tend to surpass those of previous cohorts.

# Practical implications

For policy and personal planning the CBS findings highlight several points:

• Early-career indicators can mislead if used alone: younger adults often show lower wealth at 25–30 but catch up later.
• Rising purchasing power across decades does not erase affordability problems caused by local housing shortages and price spikes that affect home ownership rates.

# Bottom line

CBS data show a general increase in purchasing power and lifetime wealth for younger Dutch generations compared with their parents and grandparents, but housing outcomes diverge. The 1970–1985 cohort is the most likely to own a home at the age CBS reports, while many younger adults face delayed earnings, extended education, more living at home, and a greater presence in flats and rental markets. House-price-driven wealth gains helped lift younger cohorts, but recent inflation has reduced some of those gains.