Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies

American Jewish Population Project

Millennials

The latest data release from the American Jewish Population Project includes updates on the youngest generation of American Jewish adults including demographics and political leanings.

Key Findings

Millennials comprise a quarter (25.2%) of adults in the American Jewish community, roughly 1.4 million Jews.

  • According to the US Census, millennial adults represent about 30% of the adult population, and their numbers have surpassed both Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.
  • Still, like the US Jewish population as a whole, they’re concentrated in just a handful of places. In fact, nearly two-thirds live in just five states: NY, CA, FL, IL, and NJ
  • Over half a million Jewish millennials live in 10 counties in the US:
    • Los Angeles (102k)
    • Brooklyn (98k)
    • Manhattan (86k)
    • Chicago (72k)
    • Nassau & Westchester counties (49k)
    • Queens (28k), Washington DC (32k)
    • Palm Beach (32k)
    • Miami-Dade (30k)
    • San Francisco (23k).
    • The majority of Jewish millennials ages 25-34 have earned a college degree or greater (67%). By comparison, 31% of all millennials ages 25-34 in the US have earned a college degree or greater. (These compare to the Pew 2013 estimates: 68% of JBRs 25-34 years old have a college degree or greater. Among JNRs, the rate is 57% (ci: 45-68%)).
    • Millennials are the most diverse generation of American Jews. Nearly 1 in 5 Jewish young adults ages 18-34 identify as non-white—that’s about twice the rate as American Jews overall (11%). This is still far behind the proportion of Millennials in the US overall, where approximately 43% identify as something other than White non-Hispanic.
    • Jewish millennials identify as Democrats at much higher rates than millennials in the US overall. Just over half (53%) say they identify as Democrat compared with 34% of all millennials.
      • Far fewer Jewish millennials identify as Republican (12%), which is almost half as many as millennials overall (21%).
      • More than one-third (35%) report that they identify with neither political party, compared to 45% of millennials nation-wide.
      • Despite the low number of Jewish millennials that identify as Republicans, nearly one-quarter say their political views are conservative (46% liberal and 32% moderate).
      • The majority of Jewish millennials identify as liberal, and nearly one-third say they are moderate.