More young adults are living with parents despite holding jobs
Realtor.com says 25.2 million U.S. adults under 35 lived with parents in 2025, as housing and daily costs kept many employed workers at home.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
A record share of young U.S. adults lived with their parents in 2025, even though most older members of that group had jobs, according to Realtor.com. The data points to an affordability squeeze that is delaying independence for many Gen Zers and younger millennials.
Realtor.com reported that 25.2 million Americans under 35 lived in a parent’s home last year, equal to about one in three young adults. The total exceeded the pandemic-era rise, when many young workers moved back in with family.
The trend is not driven mainly by unemployment, according to the report. Realtor.com said about 70% of 25- to 34-year-olds living with parents were employed.
Hannah Jones, a senior economist at Realtor.com and author of the report, said in the study that the increase is coming from working adults rather than people waiting for work. She said their pay, debt or local housing costs appear to be keeping them at home despite steady employment.
Housing costs remain a central barrier
Realtor.com tied the living arrangement to higher housing costs and tighter budgets. The report said the median U.S. home price reached $430,000 in 2025, a 34.4% increase from 2019.
Renters faced pressure as well. Realtor.com said average monthly rent climbed 17.9% to $1,673, while a housing shortage of roughly 4 million residents added to the strain.
Researchers Seung Hyeong Lee and Younggeun Yoo found that young people are reaching a point at which many begin to give up on buying a home, according to Fortune’s account of the research. That outlook reflects a broader gap between early-career earnings and the cost of setting up an independent household.
Other costs have moved higher too, according to Fortune. Ground beef reached $6.90 a pound last month, up 19% from a year earlier; orange juice rose 21% from January 2025 to February; and sandwich bread increased 4.3%.
Pay growth has not offset those expenses for many young workers. JPMorganChase Institute data cited by Fortune showed income growth for 25- to 29-year-olds slowed to 5.2% in late 2025, among the lowest readings since the institute began collecting the data in 2011.
Parents are helping, and feeling it
Parents are also carrying part of the burden. A 2026 Wells Fargo survey found that 64% of parents with Gen Z children ages 18 to 28 said their adult children still depend on them for money, housing or other financial support.
The same survey found that 56% of those parents said helping their adult children was putting pressure on their own finances. Wells Fargo said the support was going toward basic living costs rather than luxuries.
Emily Irwin, head of private wealth planning at Wells Fargo, told Fortune earlier this year that adult Gen Z children receiving support are facing uncertainty about careers, professions and paycheck stability.
Many young adults who live at home are still contributing to household costs. Pew Research Center data from 2024 found that 72% of young adults living with parents said they helped financially in some way.
Pew said 46% contributed to rent or mortgage payments, while 65% helped pay for groceries, utilities or other household expenses. Those figures suggest many young adults are using family housing as a financial buffer while still sharing some of the bills.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.