A residential neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A record number of young adults in the United States are living with their parents, according to new data from Realtor.com, as high housing costs make independent living increasingly unattainable.
In 2025, one-third of adults aged 25 to 35—amounting to 25.2 million people—resided with their parents. Among them, 70% were employed, and many held college degrees, indicating that the rise in cohabitation is driven by housing affordability rather than labor market conditions.
The national median asking rent is 18% higher than pre-pandemic levels, while the median home listing price has surged 34%, according to the real estate company.
“Every adult still in a childhood bedroom is a household not formed, a lease unsigned, a starter home unpurchased,” said Hannah Jones, a senior economist at Realtor.com.
The data underscores how the U.S. economy, particularly since the pandemic, has posed significant challenges for young people and recent graduates. Roughly 40% of recent graduates are underemployed, working in jobs that do not require a degree. College graduates have faced higher unemployment rates than all other workers since 2020, reversing a long-standing trend. Many young people report deep economic difficulties, from finding employment to advancing in their careers.
Rapidly rising inflation recently hit a three-year high, erasing a year’s worth of wage gains, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last week. Inflation jumped to 4.2% in May, driven by surging oil prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East, further delaying the prospect of moving out for many young adults.
While living at home may save young people thousands in rent, it could also postpone first-time homeownership, a key driver of household wealth, Jones noted. The typical first-time buyer is now 40 years old.
This trend also affects parents, who may be forced to delay retirement, downsize their homes, or reduce their savings, Jones added.
Beyond the social, emotional, and financial implications, the increase in young adults living with parents has exacerbated the housing market crisis. Fewer participants in the starter home market reduce turnover, tightening an already limited supply and deepening affordability struggles for young people.
Realtor.com analysts examined co-residence rates dating back to the early 2000s and found that if earlier patterns had persisted, 4.86 million fewer young adults would be living with their parents today.
The data is “not super surprising, just because we know what’s been going on with housing affordability,” said Jones. “But it is very striking when you compare it to the early 2000s and what the norms were. We’re going from 27% to 28% to 33%.”
Employment rates among this age group have remained stable over recent decades, Jones added, emphasizing that “this is really a housing story.”
“This isn’t that young adults don’t have jobs and have to move home,” she said. “It’s that they do have jobs and yet living at home is the most viable financial option for them … It’s not that these adults don’t have any means, it’s that they don’t have any opportunities.”
