The Majority of 18-24-Year-Olds Live in Their Parents’ Home, As Do 1 in 6 Older Millennials

December 4, 2017

This article is included in these additional categories:

African-American | Asian-American | Boomers & Older | Demographics & Audiences | Hispanic | Men | Teens & Younger | Women | Youth & Gen X

Some 55% of 18-24-year-olds live in their parents’ home, reports the Census Bureau in a recent data release, down slightly from a peak of 56% in 2012, but up from 50% in 2001. This year the percentage of older Millennials (25-34) living in their parents’ home remains at an all-time survey high, just above 16%. That’s up from a low of 10.2% in 2003.

Men in each age group are more likely than women to be living in their parents’ home. Some 57.6% of male 18-24-year-olds live in their parents’ home, compared to 51.9% of females of that age. The difference is even more stark among older Millennials: men ages 25-34 are 57% more likely than women ages 25-34 to be living in their parents’ home (19.6% and 12.5%, respectively).

These figures are important when considering the status of Millennials in the affluent population. While they make up a sizable share of US affluents, they’re typically counted as affluent by living in a household with a certain income threshold, not by their own income (which is typically far below-average).

Median Household Size Remains At 2.5

As a result of continued shifts in household types and family dynamics, the average household size is 2.54 this year, steady from last year but down from 3.7 in 1940.

Fully 28% of households are single-person households (35.3 million), up from 13% in 1960.

As single-person households proliferate, there’s been a concurrent decrease in the share of households that are large. Just 9% of households have 5 or more people living in them, down from 23% in 1960.

In other words, while households with 5 or more people outnumbered single-person households by almost a 2:1 ratio in 1960, now there are more than 3 times as many single-person households as large households.

Other Notable Household Stats

The Census Bureau report contains several other interesting statistics about households and family arrangements, highlighted below.

  • Hispanic householders make up 13% of US householders, on par with Black householders, while Asian householders represent 5% of all US householders. White householders comprise 79% of all households in the US, down from 89% in 1970 as America continues to become more diverse.
  • Some 27.1% of children under the age of 18 live with one parent. Of those, 16.1% live with their father, up from 12.5% in 2007.
  • The median age at which men are first married has increased from 23.7 in 1947 to 29.5 this year, while the increase is even more pronounced for women (from 20.5 to 27.4). This year’s median averages are unchanged from last year.
  • Almost 1 in 3 (32% of) adults have never been married as of this year, up from fewer than one-quarter (23%) in 1947. More men (35%) than women (29%) have never been married. Married couples comprise 69% of families with children under 18, compared to 93% in 1950.
  • There are 7.8 million opposite-sex couples living together without being married, down slightly from last year but up from 2.9 million in 1996.
  • Married households continue to comprise less than half of all households, as the number of non-family households continues to rise.
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