Multigenerational Living: 1 in 5 Millennials & Two-Thirds of Gen Z Struggle to Leave the Nest

• 20% of Millennials and 68% of Gen Z-ers still live with other family members, taking longer to leave home compared to previous generations.  
• Many members of the younger generations living at home do not anticipate a change any time soon: A RentCafe survey reveals that over 40% of Millennials and Gen Z-ers expect to share their homes for at least two more years. 
• California is the state with the most Millennials and Gen Z-ers living in multigenerational households.

Bucking the time-honored tradition of “flying the nest”, an astounding 68% of young Gen Z adults are choosing familial confines as opposed to independent living, thus weaving a complex narrative of economic, social and familial ties in modern America. What’s more, Millennials aren’t far behind with 20% still residing in their parental homes. But, what does this mean for our society, economy and the individuals involved? Digging into the data reveals a tale of generational adaptation, financial pragmatism, and evolving familial structures that are reshaping the American Dream.

Our most recent analysis of IPUMS data shows that approximately 14 million Millennials and 23 million Gen Z-ers shared a household with at least one family member. These numbers represent the largest generational shares across all age groups. Of the 51 million people living in multigenerational households today, 8 million are Gen X and 6 million are Baby Boomers.

Moreover, it seems like many of the Millennials and Gen Z-ers living at home don't see things changing any time soon, either. According to a RentCafe survey, more than 40% of Millennials (47%) and Gen Z-ers (41%) expect to continue sharing their home with someone else for at least another 2 years.

Surprisingly, 14% of Millennials expect to live in a shared household for at least 10 years, while Gen Z-ers are somewhat more optimistic with only 6% envisioning the same arrangement into their adulthood.

So, to come to a better understanding of this generational trend, we analyzed IPUMS data and looked at the 50 largest metros in the U.S. by population to determine the multigenerational hotspots for younger generations, as well as which Millennials and Gen Z-ers are finding it harder to leave the nest compared to their peers.

Millennials & Gen Z-ers working a service job are more likely to embrace multigenerational living  

What's making many adults stay with their parents nowadays? Well, while the reasons might be varied, it mainly boils down to either financial- or health-related circumstances. According to our data, the typical Millennial living with a family member at the age of 32 shares their home with three or four other people. They're also likely to be employed in food services, construction or education.

Overall, Millennials are slower when it comes to leaving the nest compared to previous generations: 18% of Baby Boomers and 17% of Gen X were living with their parents at the same age as today's average Millennials. Likewise, Zoomers also struggle: By 22 years old, 66% of Millennials, 65% of Gen X and 61% of Baby Boomers were still at home, which was surpassed by a 68% share of Gen Z.

This difference between generations could be explained by various factors. For instance, younger generations may find it more appealing to continue living in the parental home in order to save money on expenses, such as childcare costs, utility bills, rent or a future down payment. On the other hand, it’s also likely that more and more Millennials and Zoomers might choose to remain home to care for family members.

California is the most popular state for multigenerational living

When it comes to the largest shares of multigenerational households, West Coast metros dominate. Out of approximately 3 million Millennials in Los Angeles, 35% live with family members. For Zoomers, it's 81% out of roughly 1.3 million. Here, the high cost of living in the metro area — which is 51% above the national average — explains why many young adults are finding it difficult to leave this living arrangement.

Interestingly, Raleigh, NC, is the #1 hotspot for Zoomers in multigenerational households. In 2022, 87% of around 178,000 Zoomers in Raleigh still lived with family members.

Back on the West Coast, California's Riverside metro area takes second place for both generations. Approximately 35% of nearly 1 million Millennials and 85% of around 460,000 Zoomers have yet to leave the nest. The third spot is shared by the metro areas of New York and Providence, RI. Millennials claim the Big Apple with 28% living in multigenerational households, while the Renaissance City leans more toward Zoomers.

Two other East Coast metro areas — Baltimore and Washington, D.C. — are also popular among Millennials and Zoomers. In Baltimore, 27% of Gen Y and, in D.C., 81% of Gen Z live with family members. And, despite the availability of housing options in both places, the cost of living remains a significant factor: Baltimore's cost of living is 8% above the national average, while Washington, D.C. soars to 52% above.

That said, Millennials in Buffalo, NY face even greater challenges: With a 26% share out of approximately 205,000 peers belonging to this generation, Buffalo is one of the few metros that has seen an increase of 6% since five years ago. Although the cost of living is lower than the national average, the lack of new housing in the city contributes to Millennials' delayed flight from the nest.

So, which are the metro areas where Millennials and Zoomers have the easiest time leaving the parental home?

Contrary to the belief that the pandemic has increased the number of adults living with their parents, the data we collected shows a different reality. More precisely, in more than 20 of the largest U.S. metros, the number of Gen Y-ers and Gen Z-ers living in multigenerational households has been decreasing over the past five years, with many of them beginning to move out on their own. Notably, one of the most significant declines is observed in the Cincinnati area with 67% fewer Millennials and 60% fewer Zoomers living with family members compared to 2018.

In the case of Gen Z, it's Milwaukee, WI that takes the crown when it comes to young  adults leaving their parental home — 62% fewer Zoomers live in multigenerational households now than they did five years ago. Similarly, the share of Millennials in multigenerational households in Nashville, TN during the last five years has decreased by 65%.

The situation is just as rosy for those in the Raleigh area with a decrease of 62% in the number of Millennials in multigenerational homes since five years ago. And, although Raleigh may not be the ideal spot for Zoomers to strike out on their own, Virginia Beach, VA provides that opportunity: The share of Gen Z-ers in multigenerational households here decreased by 48% in the last five years.

Not to be outdone, Memphis, TN and Las Vegas, NV are two other metros where the shares of Millennials and Zoomers living with family members significantly decreased. Compared to 2018, Memphis experienced a 58% decrease for Millennials and Las Vegas had a 47% decrease for Zoomers.

Rounding out the top five list of areas where younger generations finally set out on their own are St. Louis, MO and Jacksonville, FL.

Adults living in multigenerational households are on the rise in three particular metro areas

Leaving the parental nest is a complex issue that's influenced by factors such as employment, cost of living and personal preference. However, while the trend is moving toward a decrease in multigenerational living, certain metro areas and demographics buck this trend.

Namely, Richmond, VA has witnessed a 15% increase in the number of Millennials living in multigenerational households and a 2% increase for Gen Z-ers compared to five years ago. In the same vein, Louisville, KY has also experienced a similar increase with a 21% rise for Millennials and a 24% rise for Zoomers. This leads to shares of 15% and 73%, respectively.

Finally, Buffalo, NY has seen more modest increases with a 6% rise for Millennials and a 2% rise for Gen Z-ers in multigenerational living, while Denver, CO noticed an increase (9%) in the number of Zoomers living with relatives.

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the U.S.

For this study, we looked at the number of individuals living in multigenerational households across 260 U.S. metro areas available from IPUMS CPS 2022 and 2018 estimates: Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren and Michael Westberry. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 10.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2022. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V10.0

IPUMS stands for Integrated Public Use Microdata Series and provides census and survey data from around the world, integrated across time and space. IPUMS is part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota.

The data was extracted from the IPUMS CPS through the online analysis tool for all of the years available for the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z using the following variables: metro area, relationship to household head, generation breaks by Pew Research Center definitions, year, age, occupation, industry and personal income.

We defined multigenerational households as households that include any family members other than the householder and their partner, such as parents, grandparents, roommates, other relatives, or own adult children. For members of the Gen Z generation living in multigenerational households, we only included people who were 18 years old or older.

In creating the rankings, we considered the top 50 metros by largest populations and the top 20 metro areas by changes for the main tables.

In the article, the terms "metro", "area" and "place" are used interchangeably but all refer to metropolitan areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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