Share of millennials living at home highest since Great Depression
Nearly 40 percent of millennials between 18-34 years of age in the U.S. are living with their parents; the highest proportion to co-reside with their parents since 1940. While economic factors may be driving millennials back into parental homes, cultural shifts have made this transition more acceptable in recent years, allowing further demographic changes in age at first marriage and education.
Faculty associate Philip Cohen notes, "Economic pressures are closely related to delayed household formation, but the trend toward later marriage and more education has been going on for decades, largely driven by the increased opportunities and independence for women. So what looks like prolonged adolescence and disengaged couch-surfing is also a story of increased opportunity and independence for some people in the long run."