Thank you Robin for your feedback.
Below is information from our Data Development team.
Generations are a fuzzy concept and a topic of constant debate. The Baby Boom generation (1946 to 1964) is just about the only generation that is agreed upon. In the past five years or so there has been a convergence on the breaks for Generation X, now generally considered to be those born 1965 to 1980. Millennials, as a generation are certainly solidified, however the “final” birth years for the generation are still a moving target. The Census Bureau is trying to stay away from the subject all together, last identifying Millennials in 2015 as those born 1982 to 2000. The Brookings Institute has flipped on their definition more than once too, currently defining Millennials as 1981 – 1997.
Esri generational breaks are created around three main criteria. 1) Keeping the size of the generations roughly similar, between 16 and 19 years. 2) Capturing similar fertility patterns over the time ranges. 3) Creating distinct generations that identify with shared life experiences – especially those experiences when “coming of age.” Esri will continue to evaluate the consensus for Millennial age breaks in order to determine if we need to make adjustment for our own breaks. If the Esri breaks do not suit your particular needs you can always create custom variables from the single year of age data.
I hope this helps!
Alice
