Comparison: Key Milestones for Young Adults Today vs. 30 Years AgoFrom the Pew Research Centers, researchers used government data to analyze the shares of today’s young adults reaching certain key milestones and how that compares with thirty years ago, when their parents were around the same age. The social and economic landscape is different for young adults coming of age today than it was for their parents. Specifically, they looked at: college enrollment and completion, employment and wages, student loan and mortgage debt, marriage, kids and living arrangements, financial help and independence, parents' feelings about how their young adult children are doing, views of relationships between parents and young adults, and much more.