Wednesday, May 06, 2015

Interest in Politics by Generation

Older Americans are more interested in politics than younger adults. When asked the question, "How interested would you say you personally are in politics?" fewer than half of Millennials and barely half of Gen Xers say they are "very" or "fairly" interested. According to a Demo Memo analysis of the 2014 General Social Survey, here are the numbers...

Percent "very" or "fairly" interested in politics
Millennials: 46%
Generation X: 51%
Baby Boomers: 66%
Older Americans: 73%

Voting rates by age closely matches those percentages. Here are the voting rates in the 2012 presidential election, according to the Census Bureau...

Percent voting in 2012 presidential election
Aged 18 to 24: 41%
Aged 25 to 44: 57%
Aged 45 to 64: 68%
Aged 65-plus: 72%

Note: In 2014, Millennials were 20 to 37, Gen Xers were 38 to 49, Boomers were 50 to 68.
Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2014 General Social Survey

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