The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds in the United States now live with their parents, even surpassing the number that lived with their parents during the Great Depression, the Pew Research Center found in a study published Friday.
The number of young adults living with one or both parents increased from 47% in February to 52% in July, the Pew Research Center found. As the coronavirus pandemic swept the country, Pew data shows that 2.6 million young adults moved in with their parents since February, bringing the total number of young adults living with their parents up to 26.6 million. (RELATED: POLL: Americans Believe Fake News Is A Bigger Problem Than Climate Change)
More young adults are living with their parents than at any point in history for which data is available, according to the study. At the end of the Great Depression, 48% of young adults were living with their parents – the highest number recorded before this year. The Pew Research Center notes that during the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s, there may have been more young adults living with their parents, but no data is available for that period.
In July, 52% of U.S. young adults resided with one or both of their parents, up from 47% in February, according to our analysis of monthly Census Bureau data. The number living with parents grew to 26.6 million, an increase of 2.6 million from February. https://t.co/0KiZffthbn pic.twitter.com/1EsaOnjk9X
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) September 7, 2020
The number of young adults living with their parents grew the most among people ages 18 to 24. Out of the 2.6 million increase from February to July, 2.1 million of those were people ages 18 to 24. People in that age group were also the most likely to face pay cuts or lose their jobs during the pandemic, the Pew Research Center found.
Young adults were the most likely to move during the pandemic compared to other age groups – 9% said that they moved either temporarily or permanently due to coronavirus and 10% said that someone had moved in with them, according to the study.
The coronavirus pandemic contributed to the shift in living situations as shutdowns and restrictions forced many to change their lifestyles. The study found that 23% of all adults who moved said the reason they relocated was that their college campus was closed and another 18% listed job loss or financial reasons as the primary cause of relocation.
The study analyzed data from the Census Bureau, including the Current Population Survey. Researchers noted that students who live in on-campus dorm rooms and are unmarried are always counted as living with their parents, so young adults in this specific living situation would not account for the increase in young adults living with their parents.