You’re a
Baby Boomer
1946 to 1964born 1955
Position: core Baby Boomer Cusp:
Born into the postwar boom, raised on television.
Born in 1955: Baby Boomer
A Baby Boomer (1946 to 1964), core Baby Boomer, turning 71 in 2026. No asterisks: 1955 sits well inside Boomers, 1946 to 1964.
Your year, or any other
Born 1955: you’re a Baby Boomer (1946 to 1964), core Baby Boomer. No asterisks: 1955 sits well inside Boomers, 1946 to 1964.
Where 1955 sits
1955 is core Baby Boomer: the core third of Boomers runs 1953 to 1958. Pew Research Center range, and the one generation with an official definition: the US Census Bureau uses the same 1946 to 1964 birth-rate boom.
Baby Boomers are the cohort born from 1946 to 1964, the years of the postwar surge in births. It is the only generation with an official definition: the US Census Bureau uses the same range, because it is measurable. Births jumped from about 2.9 million in 1945 to 3.4 million in 1946, passed 4 million in 1954, peaked at about 4.3 million in 1957, and stayed above 4 million until 1964. Roughly 76 million Americans were born in those nineteen years, and their size has shaped every institution they passed through, from overcrowded elementary schools in the 1950s to the strain on Social Security today. Read the full Baby Boomers page.
How old you were when…
Shared reference points, dated, so the generation label has something concrete behind it.
- age 2 Sputnik launches (1957)
- age 19 Nixon resigns (1974)
- age 31 the Challenger disaster (1986)
- age 40 Windows 95 and the dial-up boom (1995)
- age 49 Facebook launches (2004)
- age 55 the iPad and Instagram arrive (2010)
- age 61 the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election (2016)
- age 69 the hottest year on record (2024)
Milestone birthdays
Someone born in 1955 turned 18 in 1973, 21 in 1976, 30 in 1985, 40 in 1995, 50 in 2005 and 65 in 2020. Next up: 80 in 2035.
Near 1955
Born in 1955: quick answers
What generation is someone born in 1955?
Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) by the Pew Research Center definition. 1955 is core Baby Boomer.
Is 1955 a cusp year?
No. 1955 sits well inside Boomers (1946 to 1964); no source puts it in a different generation.
How old is someone born in 1955?
70 or 71 in 2026, depending on whether the birthday has passed. Type the full date into the calculator for the exact age in years, months and days.