Why are young people still living at home?

It used to be that people finished university and launched their careers.  Now, for the first time in a generation or two, there are more 18 to 34-year-old people living at home in the U.S. than living in other arrangements. That could include living alone or with room-mates, sibling, common-law or with a spouse.

This information was made public recently by the Pew Research Centre based in Washington, D.C.  

Two years ago in 2014, 32% of young adults 34 and under were living in their parents’ house which was the highest percentage out of other possibilities.

The primary reason cited for this shift towards staying cozy in the nest is because there has been a sharp decline since the 1960s of young people in America settling down into long-term relationships.

Going back to the 19^th Century, the most common living arrangement for folks aged 18 to 34 was to live with a husband or wife.  The peak of this type of arrangement, as tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau, was in 1960 when 62% of young adults in this demographic were living with a spouse.  That number of people living with a romantic partner of some description has now fallen to half.

We are also delaying marriage and tying the knot at an older age.  In 1956 when is now 60 years ago, the median age of a women to get married was 20 and for men, it was 22.  That age has risen steadily over the years and as of 2014, the media age for women to walk down the aisle is 27 and for men, it’s 29.

The author of this Pew Research study in 2014, Richard Fry, says the major activity years ago was to get married and start a family and now the focus has shifted to getting an education, getting a good job and saving money to either make moving out affordable or to have a comfortable life as soon as they move out.

There just aren’t the opportunities these days to make a good living right away, which is another discovery after this survey.  Wages have not kept pace with the cost of living, plus with that valued education that 18 to 34-year-olds seek come student loans and escalating debt plus the high cost of housing.  These contribute to the obstacles young adults face when they consider moving out on their own, let along marriage.  Saving money is difficult when young people must pay rent to people and buy their own food and pay their own utilities.

Young men seem to be leading the way.  They are living at home or often returning home in greater numbers than their female counterparts especially if they are unemployed.  As employment rates drop the number of young men still at home rises. 

Next to men, minorities in the 18 to 34-year-old demographic are the next group still at home.

It also speaks volumes about the expectations of young women. In the 1960s it was almost expected that a women would be taken care of and be dependent on a man.  With women launching their careers, it is thought that the lack of dependence means women can be more careful about who they choose to marry when the economic factor is removed.  The reverse is also true in that more young men are looking for women who will share the financial responsibilities of a household.