According to Business Insider, on average, fewer young adults are getting their driver’s licenses than ever before. Statistics from the Federal Highway Administration show that only 68% of 19-year-olds nationwide got their driver’s licenses in 2021. In comparison, in the early 1980s, about 90% of young adults the same age had their licenses. Are cars simply too expensive for the youngest generation to afford in 2023? Or does Gen Z just not want a driver’s license? In truth, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Only about a quarter of Gen Z gets their driver’s license at 16.
The New York Post reports in 1997, the first year of Generation Z, over 40% of 16-year-olds got their license. However, in 2020, only about 25% of teenagers the same age could drive. A significant part of why Gen Z drives less could be that cars have become unaffordable.
According to Bankrate, the average monthly car payment for a financed new vehicle in 2022 was just over $700. Although, for the most part, we don’t expect young drivers to get behind the wheel of a brand-new vehicle. Although, even used cars still break the bank, with an average monthly payment of about $526. Not to mention the average monthly car insurance payment adds about $168 to the tab. And CBS News reports a record number of drivers spends over $1,000 for their monthly car payments in 2023.
However, the average new car payment twenty years ago, as many millennials turned 16, was about $450 monthly. Adjusting for inflation, that same car payment in 2023 would cost about $740 monthly. So, accounting for inflation, the typical new car is slightly more expensive for Zoomers than for young millennials. But there is more to it than the unaffordability of a vehicle in the current day and age.
Cars aren’t a priority to many teens in 2023.
“I hate cars. I don’t trust people driving them, especially in New Jersey,” High schooler Kat Wilson told The Post. “And I see a lot of accidents, and it’s scary. When someone pulls into our lane, maybe from a parking lot, I just automatically tense up.”
Of note, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported a record increase in fatal car accidents between 2021 and 2022. And Bankrate reports teen drivers are at a higher risk of car accidents than any other age demographic. Some members of Gen Z don’t drive because of the anxiety of getting behind the wheel.
However, several other factors are at play beyond driving anxiety when it comes to Gen Z drivers in 2023. For example, Brookings reports an increase in young college graduates in major metropolitan areas. Residents of the largest cities in the nation are far less likely to drive than their suburban or rural counterparts. For example, New Yorkers own 30% fewer cars than people living in other large cities in the United States.
And according to The Washington Post, many young adults in 2023 prefer alternative, more climate-conscious transportation methods. Options such as electric bikes and scooters are friendlier to the densely-packed roads of urban environments. And according to Pew Research Center, young adults are the most likely to use Uber or Lyft.
