There’s a millennial in the basement: more young US adults now live with their parents than with partners

Those basement-dwelling millennials are at it again. 

In 2014, Americans aged 18 to 34 years old were more likely  to be living in their parents’ home than with a spouse or partner in their own household, according to a Pew Research Centre analysis of US Census Bureau data, released on Tuesday. It’s the first time that has happened in the modern era.

Young men have long been more likely than their female counterparts to be roommates with their parents. The share of young men living in their parents’ homes most recently surpassed the share living with partners in their own households in 2009, but as of 2014, the crossover still hadn’t occurred for young women.

Still, the proportions of both male and female 18- to 34-year-olds living at home are high— 35 per cent for the men, 29 per cent for the women — and have grown in recent years, while the shares of those living with partners have plummeted.

A similar story emerges when the data are broken down by education. Young adults without bachelor’s degrees are more likely to live in their parents’ homes, which in 2008 became more common than residing with partners did.

By ethnicity, living with parents overtook living with a spouse or unmarried partner in 1980 for young blacks, in 2007 for young American Indians/Alaska natives, and in 2011 for young Hispanics. Young whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders were still more likely to live with partners in 2014.

“Trends in living arrangements for specific groups of young adults indicate that the crossover is being driven by the experiences of more economically disadvantaged young adults, specifically, less-educated young adults and some racial and ethnic minorities,” the report says.