'Peak Millennial' Has Passed: What Comes Next for Cities and Suburbs?

The largest cohort of Millennials (those born in 1990) recently turned 25, leaving only smaller waves of their generational peers to follow. Are economic and generational trends primed for another, suburban shift?

1 minute read

February 23, 2016, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Millennial Crowd

Jared Eberhardt / Flickr

"A prominent demographer says that country has officially reached 'peak Millennial,'" according to an article by Ryan Holeywell.

That prominent demographer is Dowell Myers, who is getting the word out that the largest cohort of Millennials, those born in 1990, turned 25 in 2015. "That number matters: around age 25 is when young people start to get more serious about their careers, their housing, and their future," explains Holeywell.

Now that that cohort has hit that benchmark, in every year from now on "we’ll see a smaller and smaller number of Americans from the Millennial generation come of age — ergo, we’ve hit 'peak Millennial.'"

Once the new world order is rapidly becoming the mature world order, the question becomes whether the largest generation ever will move on from its preference for urban living. According to the article, Myers is of the camp that believes that Millennials will follow the generations that came before them into the suburbs once they can—and that will have a fresh round of implications both for cities and for suburbs.

Monday, February 22, 2016 in The Urban Edge

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

5 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

6 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

7 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press