Affordability Has Ended Many Dreams of Living Alone

The Wall Street Journal reports Moving Back Home Used to Be a Sign of Failure. Now It Shows Financial Savvy.

Last year, 49% of adults under age 30 lived with a parent, up 12 percentage points from 2019, according to the Federal Reserve.

The trend of young adults living at home is now seen as financially prudent, transforming aspects of American society, including home design.

High living costs, including a national median home price above $400,000 and record rents, drive young adults home.

Living at home as a 20-something was once viewed as a failure to launch and even a source of embarrassment in a culture that places a premium on independence. That is no longer the case. Living at home is now often viewed as a sign of financial prudence, and for some, a long-term prospect.

Chronically high living costs are helping reshape the milestones of early adulthood in America. The national median home price hovers above $400,000. Rents are at record highs in cities across the U.S., and many recent college graduates are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt.

The Moved Home Aren't Sorry

The New York Post reports More than Half of Young Adults Moved Back Home After Leaving.

Almost 60% of young adults have moved back home at some point, but they don't see it as a failure to launch. They see it as financially savvy.

But adult children aren't just moving back home. Unlike previous generations, when living with parents past a certain age carried a distinct stigma, these "kids" aren't ashamed about their living-at-home status.

They Moved Home—and Aren't Sorry

According to the survey, 3 in 4 young adults say living with family or in transitional housing (often with a roommate) is a "smart financial strategy," not a setback, and 26% declared they moved home to deliberately save money.

A vast majority of the respondents—62%—said the harsh stigma around moving back home has faded compared with previous generations, and 63% say they personally no longer feel embarrassed or judged about their living situation.

While the most recent U.S. Census figures found that 33% of individuals aged 18 to 34 live with their parents, it is even higher in pricey states like New Jersey (44.1%), Connecticut (41.3%), California (39.1%), Maryland (38.5%), and Florida (36.6%).