According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, adults ages 18 to 34 are more likely to live with their parents than in any other living arrangement. The study found that 32.1% of young adults are living at home with their parents, just barely edging out the number of young adults currently cohabiting or married (31.6%).
While that might not seem like a huge leap, it’s pretty significant considering the last time this arrangement was the most common, it was 1880 — over 130 years ago.
While living at home with your parents usually brings to mind unemployment, the lagging economy is only partially to blame. According to Pew, “This turn of events is fueled primarily by the dramatic drop in the share of young Americans who are choosing to settle down romantically before age 35.”
Since 1880, the majority of those between ages 18 and 34 have lived with a partner, with a smaller percentage living alone, as single parents, in dorms, with other family members, or with roommates. When the number of young adults living with a romantic partner peaked in 1960, with a full 62% married or cohabiting, only 20% of young adults still lived with their parents.
The study also found that men consistently have been more likely to live with their parents than women are — and women are still more likely, as a group, to be married or cohabiting than men are. A separate study also found that as many as one in four young adults may never get married, meaning it’s unlikely we'll see an upswing in cohabiting any time soon.
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