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(NewsNation) — More Americans under 35 are living with their parents, but it’s not because they don’t have jobs.
That’s according to a new Realtor.com analysis, which found roughly 1 in 3 young adults — a record 25.2 million — were living at home in 2025.
After ticking down from its pandemic peak, the share of 18- to 34-year-olds living with their parents has climbed back to 33%, up six percentage points over the past two decades.
But employment challenges don’t appear to be the main driver. Roughly 70% of 25- to 34-year-olds living at home are employed, a share that has remained relatively stable over the past 25 years, the report said.
Instead, the trend is “likely primarily fueled by a housing affordability crisis,” according to Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.
Housing costs have surged in recent years: In 2025, the median home listing price was $430,000, up 34% from 2019, while the median asking rent was $1,673, up nearly 18%.
Realtor.com estimates a roughly 4 million-unit housing supply gap, leaving many young adults with fewer “realistic ways to form independent households.”
The rise in college attendance over the past 25 years could also play a role.
“More widespread student debt may be constraining what an entry-level salary can actually buy in terms of independent living,” Jones said.
By age 22 — a point at which college graduates historically entered the rental market — nearly half (49%) remain at home, up from 46% before the pandemic.
But the trend extends beyond those just starting adulthood. Among 30- to 34-year-olds, the share living with parents rose to nearly 13% in 2025, almost double the level in 2000.
Realtor.com traced the rise in adults living with their parents to two distinct periods: the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both eras brought economic disruptions that made it harder for younger generations to live independently.
“Every adult still in a childhood bedroom is a household that didn’t form, a lease unsigned, a starter home unpurchased,” Jones said.