Young Adults in the Parental Home, 2007-2023

This Family Profile is an update of:
FP-21-23

Family Profile No. 2, 2024
Authors: Jaden Loo

Young adults may choose to live with their parents for a variety of reasons, including finances (Sandberg-Thoma et al., 2015) and social support (South & Lei, 2015). Patterns of co-residence vary by young adult age, gender, and school enrollment. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS), we track young adults’ parental co-residence by age, gender, and school enrollment from 2007 through 2023 to shed light on how residential patterns of young adults have evolved three years into the COVID-19 pandemic. We define parental co-residence as living with one’s own parent(s) or a partner/spouse’s parent(s). This family profile updates previous profiles on parental co-residence using recent data (FP-21-23, FP-19-04, FP-16-16, FP-13-07, and FP-12-22).

Share of Young Adults Living in the Parental Home by Age Group

Between 2007 and 2023, the share of young adults co-residing with parents increased across all age groups and peaked in 2020 for all age groups considered here. However, the prevalence of parental co-residence varied by age group.

• Across the last 16 years over half of those in the youngest age group (18-24) lived with their parents and had the largest share living in a parent’s home.
• The portion of 18-24 year olds living with parents peaked in 2020 at 59.2%. The share has slightly dropped and in 2023 the estimate ticked up slightly to 57.1%.
• In 2023, more than one in five (21.7%) young adults aged 25-29 were living in the parental home, up from 16.5% in 2007.
• The share of young adults co-residing with parents in the oldest age group, 30-34, has gradually risen from 8.4% in 2007 peaking at 12.8% in 2020. In 2023 the share of 30-34 year olds who lived with parents dropped slightly to 12.1%.

Share of Young Adults Living in the Parental Home by Sex and Age Group

• Estimates of young adults co-residing with a parent has gradually increased across all age groups from 2007 to 2023, regardless of sex.
• The share of young adults co-residing with a parent was highest among those at younger ages.
  • In 2023, 58.8% of 18-24 year old men and 55.4% of 18-24 year old women were living in a parent’s home compared to 15.5% of 30-34 year old men and 8.8% of 30-34 year old women.
• Parental co-residence peaked for women across all three age groups in 2020. For men, those aged 18-24 and 30-34 experienced their peak co-residence estimates in 2020.
• Across all age groups for both men and women, co-residence estimates in 2023 were lower than those in 2020.
• Parental co-residence was higher for young adult men than women cross all age groups.
  • In 2023, the largest difference between men and women was among those aged 25-29 (25.7% vs. 17.7%, respectively).

Figure 2. Share of Young Adults Living in the Parental Home by Age Group for Men and Women, 2007-2023

Source: NCFMR analyses of IPUMS-CPS, Current Population Survey, ASEC, 2007-2023

Share of Young Adults Aged 18-24 Living in the Parental Home by College Enrollment

• A greater share of young adults aged 18-24 enrolled in college full-time co-resided with parents compared to those enrolled part time or not enrolled.
  • All three enrollment groups saw increases in their co-residing shares in 2023 compared to 2007.
• The largest increase between any two time points was observed among those enrolled part time from 2022 into 2023, when their co-residing share increased from 54.8% to 63.2%.
  • This pattern represents convergence in the share coresiding with a parent between those enrolled part time and full time (63.2% and 66.9%, respectively).
  • Parental co-residence among those not enrolled in school increased from 39.1% in 2007 to 46.5% in 2023. This most recent estimate is slightly lower than the 48.8% peak during the first year of the pandemic (2020).

  
  Figure 3. Share of Young Adults Living in the Parental Home by College Enrollment, 2007-2023

Data Source:
Flood, S., King, M., Rodgers, R., Ruggles, S., Warren, J. R., Warren, D., Chen, A., Cooper, G., Richards, S., Schouweiler, M., & Westberry, M. (2023). IPUMS, current population survey: Version 11. 0 (11.0) Current Population Survey. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V11.0

References:
Sandberg‐Thoma, S. E., Snyder, A. R., & Jang, B. J. (2015). Exiting and returning to the parental home for boomerang kids. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3), 806–818. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12183

South, S. J., & Lei, L. (2015). Failures-to-launch and boomerang kids: Contemporary determinants of leaving and returning to the parental home. Social Forces, 94(2), 863–890. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sov064

Suggested Citation:
Loo, J. (2024). Young adults in the parental home, 2007-2023. Family Profiles, FP-24-02. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-24-02