Study: Virus Has Sent Most U.S. 18- to 29-Year-Olds Living With Their Parents

For the first time since the Great Depression, most adult children in the U.S. are living with their families, according to a new report.

An analysis of U.S Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank, found COVID-19 has caused millions of Americans, especially young adults, to move in with family.

A majority of 18- to 29-year-olds are living with their parents since the coronavirus began to spread earlier this year, the survey said. In July, 52 percent of people in this age category resided with one or two parents, up from 47 percent in February, researchers found.

The number of young adults living with parents swelled to 26.6 million in July, an increase of 2.6 million from February. The numbers are consistent across major racial and ethnic groups, genders, city and rural residents in the nation’s four regions.

The share of young adults, ages 18 to 24, living with their parents is higher than the previous record of 48 percent recorded in the 1940 census at the end of the Great Depression.

“These new living arrangements may have an impact not just on young adults and their families, but on the U.S. economy overall, reflecting the importance of the housing market to overall economic growth,” the survey said.

Earlier this year, the Pew Center reported that despite the lowest mortgage interest rates in a generation, young adults face obstacles to home ownership. One-third of millennials have been laid off due to the COVID-19, and another 42 percent said their pay has been cut, researchers reported. The poll of nearly 5,000 persons in those ages categories was conducted from April 7 to 12.

Last week, despite a better than expected jobs report, Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren told CNBC a full recovery will not be possible until COVID-19 is under control.

“We have a long way to go before we are fully recovered,” he told the network. “But I will say this employment report was a very positive one.”

In August, the country added nearly 1.4 million jobs, while the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent, down from 10.2 percent in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday (Sept. 4).