Millennials, the Data Says You’re Middle-Aged. What Do You Say?

As the oldest millennials begin entering their 40s, we’re starting a project to look at how adults born in the late 1970s and early ’80s feel about where they are in their lives. According to recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the average 40-year-old American is at his or her chronological midpoint, with 39.6 years left to live.

But the middle of our lives might not look exactly as it did for our parents or grandparents — or even as we once thought it would. We might have had kids later than we expected or not at all. Our romantic relationships aren’t as easily categorized. We’ve lived through a bunch of recessions and a pandemic, the housing market is a mess, and we may have jobs that didn’t even exist when we were born.

If you were born from 1977 to 1984 (a microgeneration sometimes called Xennials), we want to hear how you feel about this stage of your life.

Jessica Grose is a journalist and novelist focusing on what it means to be a parent today, including analyzing the health, economics and culture of the American family.

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