the seven living generations in america

• American generations
• Monthly US population estimates
• American population by generation
• American generations by age & race
• White America on the wane
• American generations in (apparent) time & space
• Summary

American generations

A quick look at the composition of American generations. Per Pew Research definitions & US Census data. In the process, a static perspective on the changing demographics of America.

library(tidyverse)
gen <- c('Post-Z', 'Gen Z', 'Millennial', 
         'Gen X', 'Boomers', 'Silent', 
         'Greatest')

range <- c('> 2012', '1997-2012', '1981-1996', 
           '1965-1980', '1946-1964', '1928-1945', 
           '< 1927')

gen_desc <- data.frame(rank = 7:1,
                       gen = gen,
                       range = range,
                       stringsAsFactors = FALSE)%>%
  arrange(rank)

knitr::kable(gen_desc)

Four of America’s seven living generations are more or less “complete,” and only getting smaller (albeit at different rates): Greatest, Silent, Boomers, and Gen X. The generation comprised of Millenials is complete as well, in that it has been delineated chronologically; however, the group likely continues to grow via immigration.

While Gen Z has been tentatively stamped chronologically by the folks at Pew Research, only the very eldest in the group have just entered the work force. So lot’s can happen still. And although we include them here, the Post-Z generation is mostly but a thought; half of the group has yet to be born.

Monthly US population estimates

Monthly Postcensal Resident Population plus Armed Forces Overseas, December 2018. Made available by the US Census here. The census has transitioned to a new online interface, and (seemingly) many data sets have been discontinued. Hence, the data set utilized here is slightly dated.

pops <- read.csv (
  url('https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2018/national/asrh/nc-est2018-alldata-p-File18.csv')) %>%
  filter(MONTH == '12' & YEAR == '2018') %>%
  gather(key = 'race', value = 'pop', -UNIVERSE:-AGE)

A more detailed description of the population estimates can be found here. Note: Race categories reflect non-Hispanic populations.

race <- c('NHWA', 'NHBA', 'NHIA', 
          'NHAA', 'NHNA', 'NHTOM', 'H')

race1 <- c('White Alone',
           'Black Alone',
           'American Indian Alone',
           'Asian Alone',
           'Native Hawaiian Alone',
           'Two or More Races',
           'Hispanic')

labels <- data.frame(race = race, 
                     race1=race1, 
                     stringsAsFactors = FALSE)

search <- paste(paste0('^',race, '_'), collapse =  '|')

The following table details a random sample of the data set – with Pew Research defined generations & estimated year-of-birth.

gen_pops <- pops %>%
  filter(grepl(search, race)) %>%
  mutate(race = gsub('_.*$', '', race)) %>%
  group_by(AGE, race) %>%
  summarise(pop = sum(pop))%>%
  left_join(labels) %>%
  filter(AGE != '999') %>%
  mutate(yob = 2019 - AGE)  %>% ##
  mutate (gen = case_when (
    yob < 2013 & yob > 1996 ~ 'Gen Z',
    yob < 1997 & yob > 1980 ~ 'Millennial',
    yob < 1981 & yob > 1964 ~ 'Gen X',
    yob < 1965 & yob > 1945 ~ 'Boomers',
    yob < 1946 & yob > 1927 ~ 'Silent',
    yob < 1928 ~ 'Greatest',
    yob > 2012 ~ 'Post-Z')) %>%
  left_join(gen_desc) %>%
  ungroup() %>%
  select(gen, rank, range, race, 
         race1, yob, AGE, pop)

set.seed(999)
gen_pops %>% sample_n(7)  %>%
  select(gen, range, race1:pop) %>%
  knitr::kable()

American population by generation

The figure below summarizes the populations of America’s seven living generations. These numbers will vary some depending on the data source. Millenials constitute the plurality of Americans, more recently overtaking a Boomer generation on the wane.

gen_pops %>%
  group_by(gen, rank) %>%
  summarize(pop = sum(pop)) %>%
  mutate(lab = round(pop/1000000, 1)) %>%
  ggplot(aes(x = reorder(gen, rank), 
             y = pop, 
             fill = gen)) +
  geom_col(show.legend = FALSE, 
           alpha = 0.75)  +
  geom_text(aes(label = lab), 
            size = 3.5)+
  theme(axis.text.x=element_blank(),
        axis.ticks.x=element_blank())+
  xlab('') + ylab('') +
  coord_flip()+
  ggthemes::scale_fill_stata() +
  theme_minimal() +
  labs(title = 'Population by American generation',
       caption = 'SOURCE: US Census, Monthly Postcensal Resident Population plus Armed Forces Overseas, December 2018.')

American generations by age & race

gg <- gen_pops %>% 
  group_by(yob, AGE, gen) %>%
  summarize(tot = sum(pop)) %>%
  group_by(gen) %>%
  mutate(tot = max(tot)) %>% #For labels below.
  filter(yob %in% c('1919', '1928', '1946', '1965', 
                    '1981', '1997', '2013'))

gen_pops %>%
  ggplot(aes(x = AGE, 
             y = pop, 
             fill = gen)) +
  geom_vline(xintercept = gg$AGE,
             linetype =2, 
             color = 'gray', 
             size = .25)+
  
  geom_col(show.legend = FALSE, 
           alpha = 0.85,
           width = .7)   +
  annotate(geom="text", 
           x = gg$AGE - 4.5, 
           y = gg$tot + 70000, 
           label = gg$gen,
           size = 3.25) +
  xlab('Age')+ 
  ylab('') +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(legend.position="bottom",
        legend.title = element_blank(),
        panel.grid.major.x=element_blank(),
        panel.grid.minor.x=element_blank(),
        panel.grid.minor.y=element_blank()) +
  ggthemes::scale_fill_stata()+
  scale_x_reverse(breaks = rev(gg$AGE)) +
  labs(title = 'American population by single-year age & generation')

gen_pal <- c('#b0bcc1','#ead8c3', '#437193', 
             '#c66767', '#55752f', '#dae2ba', 
             '#7b9bb3')

gen_pops %>%
  ggplot(aes(x = AGE, 
             y = pop, 
             fill = race1)) +
  geom_area(stat = "identity",
            color = 'white',
            alpha = 0.85) +
  scale_fill_manual(values = gen_pal) +
  geom_vline(xintercept = gg$AGE,
             linetype =2, color = 'gray', size = .25)+
  annotate(geom="text", 
           x = gg$AGE - 4.5, 
           y = gg$tot + 70000, 
           label = gg$gen,
           size = 3.25) +
  xlab('')+ ylab('') +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(legend.position="bottom",
        legend.title = element_blank(),
        panel.grid.major.x=element_blank(),
        panel.grid.minor.x=element_blank(),
        panel.grid.minor.y=element_blank()) +
  
  scale_x_reverse(breaks = rev(gg$AGE) )+
  labs(title ='American population by age, race & generation')

White America on the wane

white_label <- gen_pops %>% 
  group_by(gen, AGE) %>%
  mutate(per = pop/sum(pop))%>%
  filter(race1 == 'White Alone') %>%
  group_by(gen) %>%
  mutate(per = max(per)) %>% #For labels below.
  arrange(yob) %>%
  filter(yob %in% c('1919', '1928', '1946', '1965', 
                    '1981', '1997', '2013'))

The last figure illustrates a proportional perspective of race & ethnicity in America by single year of age. Per figure, generational differences (at a single point in time) can shed light on (the direction of) potential changes in the overall composition of a given populace. As well as a view of what that populace may have looked like in the past.

gen_pops %>%
  group_by(gen, AGE) %>%
  mutate(per = pop/sum(pop)) %>%
  ggplot(aes(x = (AGE), 
             y = per, 
             fill = race1)) +
  geom_area(stat = "identity",
            color = 'white',
            alpha = 0.85) +
  geom_hline(yintercept = .5, 
             linetype = 4,
             color = 'white') +
  scale_fill_manual(values = gen_pal) +
  geom_vline(xintercept = gg$AGE,
             linetype = 2, 
             color = 'gray', 
             size = .25)+
  annotate(geom="text", 
           x = gg$AGE-4.5, 
           y = white_label$per - .05, 
           label = gg$gen,
           size = 3.25) +
  xlab('')+ ylab('') +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(legend.position="bottom",
        legend.title = element_blank(),
        panel.grid.major.x=element_blank(),
        panel.grid.minor.x=element_blank()) +
  
  scale_x_reverse(breaks = rev(gg$AGE)) +
  labs(title = 'American population by age, race & generation')

American generations in (apparent) time & space

Aggregate race-ethnicity profiles for America’s seven living generations are presented in the table below. Per American Community Survey (ACS) 2018 5-year estimates, the Gen X race-ethnicity profile (or distribution) is most representative of American demographics overall.

sums <- gen_pops %>%
  group_by(rank, gen, race1) %>%
  summarize(pop = sum(pop))%>%
  group_by(gen) %>%
  mutate(per = round(pop / sum(pop), 3))

#x <- tidycensus::load_variables(year = 2018, dataset = 'acs5/profile')
variable <- c('DP05_0071P', 'DP05_0077P', 'DP05_0078P',
              'DP05_0079P', 'DP05_0080P', 
              'DP05_0081P', 'DP05_0082P', 
              'DP05_0083P')

variable_name <- c('Hispanic', 'White Alone', 'Black Alone',
                   'American Indian Alone', 'Asian Alone',
                   'Native Hawaiian Alone', 'Some Other Race Alone',
                   'Two or More Races')

gen <-  tidycensus::get_acs(geography = 'county',
                            variables = variable,
                            year = 2018,
                            survey = 'acs5') %>%
  left_join(data.frame(variable, variable_name, stringsAsFactors = FALSE))%>%
  select(-variable, -moe) %>%
  rename(variable = variable_name) %>%
  select(GEOID:NAME, variable, estimate)

nonx <- c('78', '69', '66', '72', '60', '15', '02')

library(tigris)
options(tigris_use_cache = TRUE, 
        tigris_class = "sf")

us_counties <- tigris::counties(cb = TRUE) %>% 
  filter(!STATEFP %in% nonx)
us_states <- tigris::states(cb = TRUE) %>% 
  filter(!STATEFP %in% nonx)

laea <- sf::st_crs("+proj=laea +lat_0=30 +lon_0=-95")
us_counties <- sf::st_transform(us_counties, laea)
us_states <- sf::st_transform(us_states, laea)

which1 <- gen %>%
  mutate(estimate = ifelse(estimate == 0, .0000001, estimate)) %>%
  inner_join(sums, by = c('variable' = 'race1')) %>%
  
  mutate(div = estimate/100 * log((estimate/100)/per)) %>%
  group_by(GEOID, NAME, gen) %>%
  summarize (relative_entropy = round(sum(div), 4)) %>%
  ungroup()

which1 %>%
  filter(GEOID == 36027) %>%
  left_join(gen_desc) %>%
  select(rank, NAME, gen, relative_entropy) %>%
  arrange(rank) %>%
  knitr::kable(booktabs = T, format = "html") %>%
  kableExtra::kable_styling() %>%
  kableExtra::row_spec(3,  
                       background = "#dae2ba")

which2 <- which1 %>%
  group_by(GEOID, NAME) %>%
  filter(relative_entropy == min(relative_entropy)) %>%
  ungroup() 

us_counties %>%
  left_join(which2, by = 'GEOID') %>%
  ggplot() + 
  geom_sf(aes(fill = gen),  lwd = 0) + 
  ggthemes::scale_fill_stata() +
  geom_sf(data=us_states, 
          fill = NA, 
          show.legend = F, 
          color="darkgray", 
          lwd=.5) +
  theme(axis.title.x=element_blank(),
        axis.text.x=element_blank(),
        axis.title.y=element_blank(),
        axis.text.y=element_blank(),
        legend.position = 'bottom') +
  labs(title = "Counties & Generations in America")

Summary

Some different perspectives on the composition of America & American generations, as well as a novel (static) take on the changing demographics of America.