Many Aspiring Young U.S. Homebuyers Still Living with Parents 

According to a new Realtor.com analysis released today, a record 25.2 million adults under 35 lived with their parents in 2025, surpassing even the epidemic peak as housing costs continue to prevent young adults from living independently. Nowadays, one in three adults under 35 live with a parent; this percentage has remained close to its record high until 2020 and shows no signs of declining.

The figures show the cumulative impact of over 10 years of housing underproduction, which has continued to drive up housing costs. There would be 4.86 million fewer young adults living with their parents now if co-residence patterns from the early 2000s had persisted. Instead, millions of people are unable to afford independent living due to the national median home listing price of $430,000, which is 34.4% more than 2019 levels, and the median asking rent of $1,673, which is 17.9% higher than 2019 levels. There is now a shortage of about 4 million homes in the U.S.; this shortfall has grown since the 2008 financial crisis caused construction to slow down.

Excess Co-Residence: Actual vs. Expected, 2000–2025

“The adults living with their parents today are largely employed, and many hold college degrees. What’s holding them back isn’t a lack of qualifications, but rather, at least in part, a lack of housing they can actually afford,” said Hannah Jones, Senior Economist at Realtor.com. “This is a supply story, not an employment story.”

The absolute count of 25.2 million has now exceeded the 33.0% co-residence rate among individuals under 35 in 2025, which is slightly lower than the all-time high of 33.6% in 2020. Since 2022, the share has been at or close to its epidemic top. Over the past 20 years, there has been a consistent pattern of crisis, surge, partial retreat, and a new, higher floor.

Co-residence rates increased dramatically during the Great Recession and did not rebound when the economy improved. This was the first significant increase. The second was COVID, as the total percentage increased to 33.6% in 2020. A small cohort that took advantage of historically cheap mortgage rates prior to the window closing was reflected in a modest retreat in 2022. By 2025, the number had risen to a new record, and everyone behind them had to deal with high rates, little inventory, and high rents.

Though the gap is closing at younger ages, men still make up the majority of at-home adults across all age groups. Compared to 55/45 in 2000, the gender distribution among those aged 18 to 24 is now about equal at 51.5%.

Depending on the cohort, the data breaks differently. Adults now 28 to 29 who were in their early 20s during the 2020–2021 low-rate window and found footing before conditions tightened are the main reason for the slight decline in co-residence among those aged 25 to 29 from previous highs. Behind them, the 25 to 26-year-olds reached peak rental age at the same time when rates and prices skyrocketed in 2022 and 2023, and they do not exhibit any improvement.

The opposite part of the same narrative is told by the group of people aged 30 to 34. This group, which has a co-residence rate of 12.7% in 2025 (almost twice as high as 7.1% in 2000), is mostly made up of persons who were between the ages of 25 and 29 during the pandemic and were never fully released. The same cohort at different phases of the same delayed leave is represented by the improvement at 25 to 29 and the increase at 30 to 34.

“Twenty-five million adults living with their parents represents a generation of latent demand the market hasn’t absorbed,” Jones said. “Every adult still in a childhood bedroom is a household not formed, a lease unsigned, a starter home unpurchased. The typical first-time buyer is now 40—that’s not a coincidence, it’s the math of a market that hasn’t built enough.”

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