Share of Young Adults Living With Their Parents Drops to Decade Low

Trends
Published

Despite record high inflation rates, rising interest rates and worsening housing affordability, young adults continued to move out of parental homes in 2022. According to NAHB’s analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), the share of young adults ages 25-34 living with their parents or parents-in-law declined and now stands at 19.1%. This percentage is a decade low and a welcome continuation of the post-pandemic trend toward rising independent living by young adults.

Traditionally, young adults ages 25 to 34 constitute around half of all first-time home buyers. Consequently, the number and share of young adults in this age group who choose to stay with their parents or parents-in-law has profound implications for household formation, housing demand and the housing market.

The share of adults ages 25 to 34 living with parents reached a peak of 22% in 2017-2018. Although a nearly three percentage point drop since then is a welcome development, the share remains elevated by historical standards, with almost one in five young adults in parental homes. Two decades ago, less than 12% of young adults, or 4.6 million, lived with their parents. The current share of 19.1% translates into 8.5 million of young adults living in the homes of their parents or parents-in-law.

Comparing NAHB’s estimates of the share of young adults in parental homes against NAHB/Wells Fargo’s Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) data reveals that, until the pandemic, the rising share of young adults living with parents had been associated with worsening affordability. Conversely, improving housing affordability had been linked with a declining share of 25- to 34-year-old adults continuing to live in parental homes. The strong negative correlation disappeared in the post-pandemic world, with young adults continuing to move out of parental homes despite worsening housing affordability and rising cost of independent living.

NAHB Assistant Vice President for Housing Policy Research Natalia Siniavskaia highlights factors that contributed to this trend in this Eye on Housing post.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Education

Jul 23, 2025

Project Scheduling and Estimating Tips to Boost Your Business

NAHB's fall slate of live online courses are geared toward helping you prepare for any scenario in today's economy.

Labor

Jul 22, 2025

State-Level Employment Data for June

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 147,000 in June following a gain of 144,000 jobs in May. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 27 states in June compared to the previous month, while employment decreased in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 22, 2025

Top 10 Builder Market Share Across Metros

An earlier post described how the top 10 builders in the country captured a record 44.7% of new single-family closings in 2024. BUILDER Magazine has now released additional data on the top ten builders within each of the 50 largest new home markets in the U.S., ranked by single-family permits.

Economics

Jul 21, 2025

Use of Private Water and Sewer Systems in New Single-Family Homes

The share of new single-family homes built with individual septic systems declined slightly in 2024 compared to the previous year, while the share of homes served by private wells remained steady.

Economics

Jul 21, 2025

Sales of Lower-Priced New Single-Family Homes Declined Over the Past Five Years

From 2020 to 2024, sales of lower-priced new homes declined significantly as the market moved toward higher-priced segments. Rising construction costs—driven by inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages—as well as higher regulatory costs, made it increasingly difficult for builders to construct affordable homes.