Customer Demographics – Age Ranges, Generational Names and Numbers

Today’s post is a reader question: What are the generational age ranges for the different customer demographics including ages, how many are there and what are they called.

updated March, 2019

Currently there are about 328,593,633 people in the United States (Population Clock)

Population Estimate Source National Population by Characteristics: 2010-2017

There are basically 6 generations alive today:

The Greatest Generation

Born between 1901-1926
Age 93+ (in 2019)

The Silent Generation

Born between 1927 and 1945
Age 74-92 (in 2019)

The Baby Boomers

Born between 1946 and 1964
Age 55-73 (in 2019)
23.40% of population
76 Million

Additional Baby Boomer Resources

The Baby Boom Cohort in the United States: 2012 to 2060 : Population Reports Population Estimates and Projections PDF, US Census 2014

Gen X

Born between 1965 and 1980
Age 39-54 (in 2019)
20.79% of population
67 Million

Xennials (newer term)

Born between 1977 and 1983
Have the Gen X Cynicism & the Millennial Optimism

Additional Resources

• There’s Now a Name for the Micro Generation Born Between 1977-1983
• If You Were Born Between 1977-1985, You’re Not A ‘Millennial’ Anymore, You’re An ‘Xennial’

Gen Y or the Millennials

Born between 1981 and 2000
Age 19-38 (in 2019)
27.48% of population
89 Million

Centennials – Newer Term

Born between 1995 and 2008
age 10-23 (in 2019)
26% of the population (84,474,633 in 2017)
2,000,000,000 worldwide

Gen Z, Post-millennials or iGen

Born between 2001 and 2019
age 1-18 (in 2019)
18.01% of population
58,514,928
Interesting article: Move Over Millennials, It’s Gen Z’s Turn to Kill Industries

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Want More Consumer Demographics?

• Customer Demographics – Age Demographics for Advertising
• What are important customer demographics?
• Customer Demographics For Social Media

How Does Knowing Age Ranges and Generational Info Help With Marketing Strategy?

If you understand customer demographics and how it fits into your small business you can truly make some great leaps in progress with your marketing plan!

I thought a real world example might be helpful for understanding how this all works!

A few months ago I started writing about dementia on my Artsy Fartsy blog when we moved my Mother In Law in with us. She hits the very last part of the silent generation being born in 1945, but she is very much a product of the consumption of Baby Boomers (shopping is her life!)

But is she my target demographic for marketing (getting website views, selling affiliate products and building an email list?) NO! My target demographic is the Sandwich Generation, younger Baby Boomers and Gen Xers who are now stuck with caring for their aging parents WHILE raising their own children. 

Baby Boomers are a consumption generation, taking advantage of their large buying numbers and desire to be seen as “cool and hip”. 

Gen X-ers are a practical bunch who grew up before the internet and who took care of themselves at home after school as latchkey kids while their moms went back into the workforce. 

So with two different demographics I can target in my marketing efforts, I need to make sure to create content that would appeal to both of those models. Posts about products to help take care of elderly people AND practical tips for how to do it all yourself. 

The great thing is that by knowing how each of the generations responds to marketing, I can make sure that I am creating content (blog posts, graphics, social media posts) that will be interesting to both groups.

The numbers and charts provided are for marketing purposes only and should not be taken as gospel! We are waiting for updated data from the next census to revise percentages. 

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