Gen Z sticking close to home: More young adults choose to live with parents, Census shows

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the economic wellbeing of many Americans, causing job loss and financial instability for families across the nation. Young people graduating from high school and college during this time period were thrown into a chaotic job market. Some decided to extend their stay at home and swap out steep rent prices for more family time.

Recent Census data reveals that more than half of young adult men and women aged 18 to 24 are living at home, this includes young adults living in college dorms. Typically students housed in dormitories live with their parents between semesters. 

Rising inflation, increasing student debt and unmanageable housing and rent prices are some indicators of why young people have chosen to move back in with their parents.

Here's how the number of young adults living with parents has changed over the past several decades:

Why are more young adults living at home?

In 1960, about 52% of young men aged 18 to 24 lived with their parents, compared to 35% of young women. The reason for this gender disparity is because women were less likely to pursue college after high school.

In 2022, the most recent year of data available, 55% of 18 to 24 year old women live at home and 57% of men in the same age group do the same.

According to a report from the Census Bureau, "Young adults are experiencing the traditional markers of adulthood, such as leaving the parental home, starting a family, and establishing stable careers, later in life than previous generations did."

A 2023 survey from Harris Poll for Bloomberg found that about 45% of people aged 18 to 29 lived at home with their families - an 80 year high.

Between 2021 and 2023, over 60% of Generation Z and millennials said they moved back home, the poll reported. The top reason young people moved back home was to save money. The second most common reason was young people said they could not afford to live on their own.

Home arrangements vary by generation

The most common housing arrangement for those aged 25 to 34 was living with a spouse, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 17% of young adult men and women in the same age group lived with an unmarried partner.

In 1960, about 11% of men and 7% of women ages 25 to 34 lived in their parents' home. That amount increased slightly in 2022 -18% of men and 12% of women in this age group live with their parents.