REAL ESTATE TRENDS...The Price of Low Wages? Millennials Set Record for Living With Their Parents

By Beth Braverman

For the first time in over a century young Americans are more likely to live with their parents than to live with a spouse or romantic partner.

A new report from the Pew Research Center finds that in 2014, 32.1 percent of Americans age 18-34 lived in their parents’ homes, compared to 31.6 percent of those who were married or cohabitating in their own household.

Several trends have pushed more millennials to stay home, including a postponement of marriage, a tough employment market and low wages. The failure to leave the family nest also reflects far higher rents and home prices relative to income than those faced by previous generations.

Another factor is an increase in college enrollment. Nearly half of American college students said that they lived at home last year in order to keep college costs down, according to a Sallie Mae report.

The shift marks the first time since 1880 that the most common living arrangement for young adults has not been living with their significant other. At its peak 1960, 62 percent of young adults lived with a romantic partner, compared to just 20 percent who lived with their parents.

Young men are more likely to live with their parents than women, with 35 percent of men living with their parents compared to 29 percent of women. Minorities and those without a bachelor’s degree were also more likely than their peers to live in their parents’ home.