Posted on 05/31/2016 1:19:52 PM PDT by TigerClaws
Broad demographic shifts in marital status, educational attainment and employment have transformed the way young adults in the U.S. are living, and a new Pew Research Center analysis of census data highlights the implications of these changes for the most basic element of their lives – where they call home. In 2014, for the first time in more than 130 years, adults ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents’ home than they were to be living with a spouse or partner in their own household. 1
This turn of events is fueled primarily by the dramatic drop in the share of young Americans who are choosing to settle down romantically before age 35. Dating back to 1880, the most common living arrangement among young adults has been living with a romantic partner, whether a spouse or a significant other. This type of arrangement peaked around 1960, when 62% of the nation’s 18- to 34-year-olds were living with a spouse or partner in their own household, and only one-in-five were living with their parents. 2
By 2014, 31.6% of young adults were living with a spouse or partner in their own household, below the share living in the home of their parent(s) (32.1%). Some 14% of young adults were heading up a household in which they lived alone, were a single parent or lived with one or more roommates. The remaining 22% lived in the home of another family member (such as a grandparent, in-law or sibling), a non-relative, or in group quarters (college dormitories fall into this category).
Young men are now more likely to live with a parent than to live with a spouse or partner; not so for women
It’s worth noting that the overall share of young adults living with their parents was not at a record high in 2014. This arrangement peaked around 1940, when about 35% of the nation’s 18- to 34-year-olds lived with mom and/or dad (compared with 32% in 2014). What has changed, instead, is the relative share adopting different ways of living in early adulthood, with the decline of romantic coupling pushing living at home to the top of a much less uniform list of living arrangements.
Among young adults, living arrangements differ significantly by gender. For men ages 18 to 34, living at home with mom and/or dad has been the dominant living arrangement since 2009. In 2014, 28% of young men were living with a spouse or partner in their own home, while 35% were living in the home of their parent(s). For their part, young women are on the cusp of crossing over this threshold: They are still more likely to be living with a spouse or romantic partner (35%) than they are to be living with their parent(s) (29%). 3
In 2014, more young women (16%) than young men (13%) were heading up a household without a spouse or partner. This is mainly because women are more likely than men to be single parents living with their children. For their part, young men (25%) are more likely than young women (19%) to be living in the home of another family member, a non-relative or in some type of group quarters.
A variety of factors contribute to the long-run increase in the share of young adults living with their parents. The first is the postponement of, if not retreat from, marriage. The median age of first marriage has risen steadily for decades. In addition, a growing share of young adults may be eschewing marriage altogether. A previous Pew Research Center analysis projected that as many as one-in-four of today’s young adults may never marry. While cohabitation has been on the rise, the overall share of young adults either married or living with an unmarried partner has substantially fallen since 1990.
In addition, trends in both employment status and wages have likely contributed to the growing share of young adults who are living in the home of their parent(s), and this is especially true of young men. Employed young men are much less likely to live at home than young men without a job, and employment among young men has fallen significantly in recent decades. The share of young men with jobs peaked around 1960 at 84%. In 2014, only 71% of 18- to 34-year-old men were employed. Similarly with earnings, young men’s wages (after adjusting for inflation) have been on a downward trajectory since 1970 and fell significantly from 2000 to 2010. As wages have fallen, the share of young men living in the home of their parent(s) has risen.
Economic factors seem to explain less of why young adult women are increasingly likely to live at home. Generally, young women have had growing success in the paid labor market since 1960 and hence might increasingly be expected to be able to afford to live independently of their parents. For women, delayed marriage—which is related, in part, to labor market outcomes for men—may explain more of the increase in their living in the family home.
The Great Recession (and modest recovery) has also been associated with an increase in young adults living at home. Initially in the wake of the recession, college enrollments expanded, boosting the ranks of young adults living at home. And given the weak job opportunities facing young adults, living at home was part of the private safety net helping young adults to weather the economic storm.
Incomplete without a picture of pajama boy.
Government’s insatiable demand for the output of others force both parents in two-parent households to work full time. That same demand - along with regulation causing huge increases in the price of everything from food to clothing to appliances to vehicles - has impoverished kids suckered into attending universities.
Exactly the way the RATS want it.Renters vote for RATS,owners vote GOP.
So what happens to the moronials when the older working generation retires?
There are so many bad things about our “modern” society that led to this. Some are economic — young people simply can’t afford houses anymore in some parts of the country. Some are social — liberal propaganda has completely destroyed the social construct that young people get married and have kids in their 20s, or ever. Liberal society wants young people to be wards of the state, not property-owning, married couples.
I would rather have my kids living with us after college while working and trying to save up for a house, and keep the money in the family, than to give money to another family in the form of rent.
This is trouble for one version of the “American dream” but could that, in fact, have been a kind of slow American nightmare?
The last verse of the Old Testament talks about turning the hearts of the fathers to the sons and vice versa “lest [God] should strike the land with a curse.”
Not every extended household is a Pajama Boy household.
I know of a lot of renters who have voted GOP and many owners who vote Dem. It really depends upon where one lives.
OTOH, this infantilization, of what was once considered to be an ADULT, is what the Dems want.
Many cultures have extended families without being “infantile” about the youngest adults.
I try to look what God has wrought, not necessarily man.
My nephew still lives with my sister, but he’s no pajama boy.
Just stupid. ( not that the pajama boys aren’t)
Good question. From what I’m seeing with thier parents, they will not retire at the normal age. They will be working much longer. These kids learned poor financial habits somewhere!
Fake their way onto disability?Cash out their inheritance?
Someone has to change their full diapers.
Could this pressure encourage the creation of family enterprises once again? With the successes of modern medicine, elders are living to more and more viable years.
They are trying to spin this as a result of preferred cultural changes as opposed to the real reason, an economy that doesn’t work for young people.
Especially young males.
Of course the irresponsible are going to have kids on our dime anyway which makes the problem worse.
True, to some extent; however, the American Millennial generation is THE most infantile adults, who have ever lived!
It makes perfect sense to me. I’m glad my kids live here. They will leave soon enough. They have rooms and can save money. Apartments are insanely expensive. Jobs are few and far between. My brother lived at home til he was probably 25, then he bought a house. There should be no rush toward living far from the family who loves you. Family is important.
And with two-earners having to work full-time, who better to take care of the kids than the kids’ grandparents. It’s not like houses aren’t big enough to accommodate them.
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