More young adults live with parents as housing costs rise 

The total number of adults under 35 who live with their parents has hit a new record of 25.2 million as rising housing costs continue to present barriers to homeownership for many young Americans, according to a new Realtor.com report.

That number, which the report said reflects 2025 co-residence data derived from the IPUMS Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), represents one-third of all adults under 35 — down just slightly from the all-time high share of 33.6% in 2020. 

Though largely educated and employed, these young adults are still stymied by a lack of affordability, Realtor.com Senior Economist Hannah Jones said.

"What's holding them back isn't a lack of qualifications, but rather, at least in part, a lack of housing they can actually afford," Jones said in the report. "This is a supply story, not an employment story."

How we got here: The slow pace of new construction over the past decade-plus has kept housing prices prohibitively high for many young adults, the report noted, with the national median list price now at $430,000 and the median asking rent at $1,673 — up 34.4% and 17.9%, respectively, from 2019 levels.

The high co-habitation rate also follows a series of economic crises that have continued to disrupt recovery. During the Great Recession, parent-adult child co-residence rates increased significantly and never fully recovered. Co-residence rates spiked again during the pandemic before briefly retreating when some young adults latched onto low mortgage rates. There was then a resurgence of the trend as those who missed out suddenly had to deal with elevated rates, rising rent costs and low inventory.

Employed, but priced out: Bucking the old stereotype of young adults living with their parents while unemployed, most (70%) between the ages of 25 and 34 do have jobs today, a share that has gradually increased over time.

As of 2000, about 1 in 9 adults in their late 20s were employed and living at home, the report noted. By 2025, that share grew to nearly 1 in 7 even as employment rates within this demographic held steady — indicating this change has occurred in response to high housing costs.

Overall, these young adults skew male, though the gender split is closer among younger age groups. About 90% of all adults between 24 and 34 who are living with parents have never been married, up from 79% in 2000. Meanwhile, about one-third of those in their mid-to-late 20s have a four-year degree, up from fewer than 1 in 4 a quarter-century ago.

Divided generations: Depending on their age during the pandemic-era mortgage rate drop, young adults have progressed in different ways when it comes to housing.

For the 25 to 29 age group, there has been a slight decline in recent years in the share of those living with parents. This drop occurred because many were able to gain a place in the market before rates and prices started climbing, the report noted. But those who are now around 25 hit their prime renting age just as mortgage rates and prices spiked. This younger group hasn't seen the same decline.

Meanwhile, 12.7% of adults ages 30 to 34 resided with their parents in 2025 — twice the share recorded in 2000. Individuals in this age group were 25 to 29 during the pandemic, the report noted, and became stuck as housing conditions rapidly changed around them.