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More Than One in Five Millennials Still Live With Mom

Ahead of Mother's Day, Zillow analysis shows the share of young people living with their moms reached the highest level this century

-- 21.9% of millennials live with their moms, nine percentage points higher than those of the same age in 2005.

-- A much larger share of those living with mom have jobs than in 2010, highlighting affordability challenges even as the economy has recovered.

-- The highest share of millennials living with their moms are in Riverside, Miami, Los Angeles and New York, which are all among the least affordable rental markets in the country. Seattle, Austin, Portland, Kansas City and Denver have the smallest shares.

May 7, 2019

SEATTLE, May 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- More people age 23-37 are living with their moms than at any time this century, according to a Zillow® analysisi. Nearly 22% of American millennials – more than 14 million in total – live with their mom or both parents, the highest share for this age group since at least 2000.

The share of young adults living with mom has increased steadily since 2001 – more than doubling from 6.8 million (11.7%) to 14.3 million (21.9%).

While the economy has recovered since the housing bust and recession of the mid-2000s, young people living with their moms has continued to rise. The share of those living at home that are unemployed has fallen to 10.3% from 19.5% in 2010, indicating that more young people are struggling to afford independent housing even while holding a job.

"While it might be tempting to stereotype these young adults as lazy millennials bumming off of mom, the data paints a different picture," said Zillow Senior Economist Sarah Mikhitarian. "When the housing market went bust and the economy unraveled into a recession, young adults increasingly returned to their childhood home. And, despite a strong labor market and fairly robust economic recovery, this trend has continued in the face of rising housing costs and deteriorating affordability. Living with mom as an adult can certainly bring its share of headaches, but the benefits go beyond the occasional home-cooked meal – living under mom's roof can allow young adults to save enough money for a down payment, security deposit or some other big expense. Not to mention you won't have to travel far to take your mom out to dinner this Mother's Day."

Rents are on the rise, bringing present-day affordability challenges for those looking to rent and long-term difficulties in saving for a down payment on a first home. Recent Zillow research found today's renters need an extra year and a half to save for a down payment than their parents' generation 30 years earlier.

Those that choose to live with their moms and build up their savings may have a leg up. An analysis from HotPads®, a Zillow Group-owned apartment- and home-search platform, showed that living rent-free with parents can allow you to afford a down payment on a home nearly three years sooner. And a small share of this young adult population is actually hosting mom in their own home – perhaps to take care of her as she ages or to have help raising children of their own.

Among large housing markets, Riverside, Miami, Los Angeles and New York have the highest share of millennials living with their moms – at least 31%. These four metros are all among the seven least affordable rental markets in the country.

Millennials in Seattle, Austin, Portland, Kansas City and Denver will likely need to travel to visit their moms on Mother's Day. The smallest share of young adults live with mom in these markets, below 15% in each case. In these booming, expensive markets, it's likely that fewer young adults live with mom because family is far away rather than because rents are more affordable.

The median monthly rent price in the U.S. is $1,474, up 2.5% from a year earlier, according to the Zillow Rent Indexii. Zillow predicts rents will rise an additional 1.8% in the coming year and reach the $1,500 threshold.

Metropolitan Area

Share of Young
Adults (23-37)
Living with
Mom in 2005

Share of Young
Adults (23-37)
Living with
Mom in 2017

Zillow Rent
Index (ZRI)

Rent Affordability (Share
of Median Income Spent
on Median Monthly Rent
Payment)

United States

13.0%

21.9%

$1,474

27.7%

New York, NY

20.4%

31.0%

$2,419

36.4%

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

18.6%

32.0%

$2,836

45.7%

Chicago, IL

15.5%

25.3%

$1,691

28.1%

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

9.8%

19.5%

$1,643

27.7%

Philadelphia, PA

17.3%

27.1%

$1,608

26.7%

Houston, TX

12.9%

22.8%

$1,584

28.6%

Washington, DC

12.5%

21.6%

$2,173

25.0%

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL

15.7%

34.8%

$1,923

40.2%

Atlanta, GA

10.3%

21.3%

$1,447

25.2%

Boston, MA

14.0%

21.4%

$2,395

31.8%

San Francisco, CA

14.4%

22.5%

$3,450

38.3%

Detroit, MI

15.5%

24.3%

$1,226

24.0%

Riverside, CA

18.0%

35.4%

$1,988

35.8%

Phoenix, AZ

9.2%

21.4%

$1,446

26.2%

Seattle, WA

8.2%

13.7%

$2,233

30.9%

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN

7.8%

15.4%

$1,700

25.2%

San Diego, CA

11.8%

23.8%

$2,647

38.8%

St. Louis, MO

12.1%

18.8%

$1,158

21.5%

Tampa, FL

10.2%

22.7%

$1,442

31.4%

Baltimore, MD

14.0%

25.4%

$1,753

26.3%

Denver, CO

8.0%

14.9%

$2,108

31.1%

Pittsburgh, PA

15.5%

18.9%

$1,102

21.4%

Portland, OR

7.7%

14.4%

$1,870

29.4%

Charlotte, NC

10.3%

19.3%

$1,342

24.9%

Sacramento, CA

12.7%

22.7%

$1,915

31.9%

San Antonio, TX

13.8%

25.8%

$1,368

27.7%

Orlando, FL

10.2%

26.0%

$1,531

31.4%

Cincinnati, OH

10.5%

16.5%

$1,305

24.2%

Cleveland, OH

14.3%

20.1%

$1,165

25.5%

Kansas City, MO

8.6%

14.8%

$1,295

23.4%

Las Vegas, NV

11.6%

22.7%

$1,396

27.1%

Columbus, OH

8.0%

15.2%

$1,363

24.3%

Indianapolis, IN

7.7%

16.2%

$1,235

23.7%

San Jose, CA

14.9%

23.2%

$3,553

34.1%

Austin, TX

6.9%

13.8%

$1,704

26.5%

Virginia Beach, VA

11.3%

18.9%

$1,447

25.8%

Nashville, TN

8.3%

16.0%

$1,518

27.1%

Providence, RI

16.1%

26.2%

$1,695

29.4%

Milwaukee, WI

10.2%

16.8%

$1,337

26.0%

Jacksonville, FL

10.3%

21.0%

$1,395

27.1%

Memphis, TN

12.5%

24.7%

$1,122

25.3%

Oklahoma City, OK

8.1%

16.0%

$1,102

22.4%

Louisville-Jefferson County, KY

11.9%

19.9%

$1,196

24.0%

Hartford, CT

16.5%

23.6%

$1,604

26.0%

Richmond, VA

10.7%

23.6%

$1,428

24.0%

New Orleans, LA

19.3%

25.8%

$1,420

32.2%

Buffalo, NY

16.0%

21.1%

$1,225

25.1%

Raleigh, NC

6.1%

16.4%

$1,460

23.0%

Birmingham, AL

13.4%

20.6%

$1,105

23.7%

Salt Lake City, UT

10.6%

16.5%

$1,616

25.7%

Zillow

Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with great real estate professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow Group's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists, data analysts, applied scientists and engineers produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

i Zillow analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau data from the American Community Survey from 2005-2017. A mom must be living in the household in order to be included in this analysis. The 50 largest U.S. metros were used in this analysis.

ii The Zillow Rent Index (ZRI) is the median Rent Zestimate® (estimated monthly rental price) for a given geographic area on a given day, and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums, cooperatives and apartments in Zillow's database, regardless of whether they are currently listed for rent. It is expressed in dollars.

 

SOURCE Zillow

For further information: Alex Lacter, Zillow, press@zillow.com