Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

A Rising Share of Young Adults Live in Their Parents’ Home

Other Demographic Patterns

In 2012, 36% of Millennials lived in their parental home. The likelihood of living at home varies by demographic characteristics and major activities.

  • Millennial males (40%) were significantly more likely than Millennial females (32%) to live at home.
  • Millennials in the Northeast (44%) were significantly more likely to live in their parents’ home than Millennials in other regions of the country. This partly reflects the fact that Northeastern Millennials were more likely to be enrolled in college than their counterparts elsewhere, as well as higher housing costs in the Northeast (Furstenberg, 2010).
  • Not surprisingly, foreign-born Millennials (25%) were less likely than native-born Millennials to live with parents as the foreign-born Millennials’ parents may not have come to the United States. Native-born Millennials of one or more immigrant parents (or second-generation Millennials) were more likely (48%) than their counterparts of native-born parentage (37%) to reside in their parents’ home.
  • Unmarried Millennials with children were much less likely (22%) to be living at home compared to Millennials overall (36%), partly reflecting the fact that they were much less likely to be pursuing college than other Millennials.
  • As with married Millennials, very few unmarried Millennials living with a cohabiting partner also lived in their parents’ home in 2012 (3%).
  • Millennials who graduated from college (18%) were much less likely than less-educated Millennials to live at home. Millennials who have finished college tend to be older, but even within narrow age groups it remains the case that college-educated Millennials are the least likely to reside in their parents’ home.
  • Millennials who were employed (29%) were much less likely than unemployed Millennials (45%) to be living at home.
SDT-millennials-with-parents-08-2013-09
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