The U.S. Census Bureau says the percentage of young adults living at home with their parents has jumped 87% in the past two decades, and while they’re saving money on rent, it could cost them in the end.
Business Insider reports that the pandemic kicked off the trend, and an expensive housing market prolonged the situation. And while it interviewed some young adults who have made peace with having to move back in with mom and dad, the publication reported on some studies showing all’s not well with that arrangement.
A 2023 Bloomberg News and Harris Poll survey of 4,100 adults showed that nearly half of young adults are now living with their parents — with nearly 70% of 18- to 29-year-olds citing financial reasons for doing so.
Forty percent of those polled said they felt happy living at home; 87% of those say they shouldn’t feel shamed for living at their old address.
However, a 2021 Pew Research poll revealed more than one-third of all Americans say so many young people living it home was “bad for society,” with just 16% calling it a good thing.
Business Insider also cited a 2019 report from the Urban Institute that found that those who lived with their folks between 25 and 34 years old “were significantly less likely to be homeowners 10 years later.”
Also of concern: A 2017 study out of Northumbria University showed that those who bunked up with their parents as a young adult “reported significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms.”
Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.