FOR PEOPLE

Defining Attributes of the Middle Class
Being able to save money
for the future
Figure 57
85
150%
140%
130%
120%
110%
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Being able to own your
own home
76
Source: B
Being able to afford college
Having enough money to sometimes
buy things you’d like to have, even
if you don’t absolutely need them
Having enough money for
vacation travel
Being able to buy a new car
from time to time
69
68
62
60
Fig
H
20
OF
0 18 36 54 72 90
Source: Tom Breen, “UConn/Hartford Courant Poll: Middle Class Dream Persists,
Though Harder to Attain,” UConn Today, February 11, 2013,
http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2013/02/uconnhartford-courant-poll-middle-class-dream-persists-though-harder-to-attain/.
.
of millennial buyers had purchased
detached houses, and 8 percent had
chosen attached housing. Only 7 percent
purchased units in multi-unit buildings,
although many more, unable to buy, do
end up renting in high density buildings
longer than they expect. 225
These results track, almost precisely,
the data from the survey for all buyers
Ultimately, the issue of home-ownership
relates to the quality of community
life, particularly for middle class
families. This is critical, because the
vast majority of millennials intend to
get married and have children, although
they will tend to do this later in life than
earlier generations.
This suggests that there will be a
renewed demand for houses in areas
that have many homeowners. Families
generally do best in such areas. After
all, homeowners naturally have a
much greater financial stake in their
neighborhoods than renters do. 226 They
Figure 58
Percent who agree “homeownership
is an important part of the
American Dream”
90
88
86
84
82
80
78
76
84
74
Base Age 21+
81
Total population
Millennials
80
86
Gen x
Source: Merrill Lynch – Age Wave, 2014
Boomers
Silent Gen
89
Fro
BEST CITIES FOR PEOPLE 47