Young Adults Still Waiting to Move Out

Many young adults (ages 25-34) are continuing to wait to move out of their parental homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

The number of young adults living at home peaked at 22% in 2017-2018, equaling 9.7 million. Since then, that number has declined only slightly and stayed stagnant at about 19% from 2022-2023. Although this percentage is the second lowest since 2011, the number of young adults still living at home remains elevated by historical standards.

Regionally, more young adults are living at home in the South and Northeast, with higher percentages along the coasts. The most recent data from 2023 reported 17.8% of young adults living with parents in Pennsylvania, with neighboring states seeing some of the highest shares:

• Ohio: 14.9%
• West Virginia: 17.2%
• Virginia: 17.9%
• Maryland: 22.7%
• Delaware: 23.2%
• New Jersey: 26.2%
• New York: 21.8%

“Traditionally, young adults ages 25 to 34 make up around half of all first-time homebuyers,” NAHB notes. “Consequently, the number and share of young adults in this age group that choose to stay with their parents, or parents-in-law, has profound implications for household formation, housing demand and the housing market.”

This reflects research by the National Association of Realtors®, which found that first-time buyers decreased to 24% of the market share (32% last year), the lowest share since NAR began collecting the data in 1981. In addition, the median first-time buyer age increased to 38 years old this year, up from 35 last year, according to NAR’s Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report.

Expensive housing costs are one of the main factors contributing to the elevated share of young adults continuing to live at home. With both home prices and rent rates high, many young adults are still waiting to move out until doing so is more financially feasible.