Crippling student debt and high stress rates aside, young people are feeling pretty good about their prospects of late.
According to Gallup’s most recent poll, 70 percent of Americans 18-29 years old feel their financial situation is getting better–that’s up 10 points from 2014.
This reflects a nationwide trend: a majority of all Americans, 52 percent, currently think their finances are improving. This is the highest percentage since 2004.
Young people were the most positive of any age group, which Gallup notes is typical. Optimism declines steadily as ages rise, although those 65+ are much more positive this year than last–33 percent think things are getting better, compared to 20 percent last year. Those 50-64 saw the least change in optimism in the past year–38 percent, up two points from last year.
There is also a stark partisan divide in outlook: 63 percent of Democrats think things are better, versus 38 percent of Republicans.
Things got somewhat little less rosy when Gallup asked people whether their financial situation was “excellent,” “good,” “fair,” or “poor.” Less than half–46 percent–think their situation is excellent or good.
More from the poll here.
