18% of Americans Live in a Multigenerational Home

Over the past 50 years, the share of the U.S. population that lives in a multigenerational household has more than doubled, rising from 7 percent in 1971 to 18 percent in 2021, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. Pew defines a multigenerational household as one that includes at least two generations of adults (mainly aged 25 or older) or a "skipped generation"—grandparents living with grandchildren under age 25. 

Young adults (aged 25 to 29) are most likely to live in a multigenerational household, at 31 percent. In the age group, men (37 percent) are more likely than women (26 percent) to do so.  

Percent of population living in a multigenerational household, 2021

Aged 25 to 29: 31%

Aged 30 to 34: 19%

Aged 35 to 39: 15%

Aged 40 to 64: 19%

Aged 65-plus: 18%

By race and Hispanic origin, non-Hispanic whites are least likely to live in a multigenerational household (13 percent). Asians (24 percent), Blacks (26 percent), and Hispanics (26 percent) are about equally likely to have a multigenerational living arrangement. 

The number-one reason for living in a multigenerational household is financial issues, cited by 67 percent as a reason and by 40 percent as a major reason. Nearly half (45 percent) say they live in a multigenerational household to care (or receive care) for an adult family member. Twenty-four percent are doing so to receive help with child care.

Interestingly, multigenerational living gets positive reviews. Overall, 56 percent say the experience is somewhat/very positive, 26 percent say it is neutral, and 17 percent think it is somewhat/very negative. What explains these positive reviews? The 58 percent majority of those who live in a multigenerational household say it is convenient most/all of the time. Fifty-four percent say it is rewarding most/all of the time. Only 23 percent say it is stressful most/all of the time. And, if you think most of these multigenerational households are crowded, think again. Fully 72 percent of those who live in a multigenerational household say there is plenty of space. 

Source: Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, Financial Issues Top the List of Reasons U.S. Adults Live in Multigenerational Homes

Stability in Children's Living Arrangements

The living arrangements of the nation's children have changed little over the past 12 years, according to a Census Bureau report comparing children's living arrangements in 2019 with 2007.

Distribution of children under age 18 by living arrangement, 2007 and 2019

	2019	2007	pp change
Total children	100.0%	100.0%	–
Living with two parents	70.1	70.7	-0.6
Biological mother and father	62.5	63.3	-0.8
Married parents	58.9	60.8	-1.9
At least one step/adoptive parent	7.6	7.4	0.2
Living with one parent	25.8	25.8	0.0
Living with neither parent	4.0	3.5	0.5
Living with grandparents	2.1	1.8	0.3

The 59 percent majority of children live in a traditional nuclear family—with their married, biological mother and father. This percentage was down slightly from the 61 percent of 2007. The percentage of children who live in a single-parent family (26 percent) did not change over the years. The great majority of these children (83 percent in 2019) live with their mother. 

Source: Census Bureau, Living Arrangements of Children: 2019

2.3 Million Fewer Households with Children

The number of households with children under age 18 has fallen by more than 2 million since 2007 (the year births peaked in the U.S.), according to the Census Bureau...

Number of households with children under age 18
2018: 34,452,000
2007: 36,757,000
Change: –2.3 million

As of 2018, only 27 percent of households included children under age 18, a record low. The share of households with children was as high as 49 percent in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Family Tables

Shrinking Share of Older Women Live Alone

Nearly 15 percent of women aged 15 or older (14.6 percent) lived by themselves in 2018. This figure has been slowly rising for decades, mostly because of the aging of the population. Older adults are more likely than their younger counterparts to live alone, and as the population ages, lone living is becoming more common overall. But the opposite is true for older women. As death rates for the two biggest killers—heart disease and cancer—have fallen among men, widowhood (and lone living) is being delayed.

Among women aged 65 to 74, the percentage who live alone fell by 7 percentage points between 1990 and 2018—from 33 to 26 percent. Among women aged 75 or older, the decline was nearly 10 percentage points during those years...

Percent of women aged 75 or older who live alone
2018: 44.2
2010: 47.3
2000: 49.4
1990: 54.0

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey

Living Arrangements of Young Adults: 1967–2017

The living arrangements of 25-to-34-year-olds have changed dramatically over the past 50 years. In 1967, more than 80 percent of 25-to-34-year-olds lived with a spouse. In 2017, no single living arrangement accounts for the majority of the age group...

Living arrangements of men aged 25 to 34
36.7% live with a spouse in 2017, down from 82.6% in 1967
18.3% are the child of the householder, double the 9.1% of 1967
14.0% live with a partner, up from just 0.3% in 1967
11.4% live alone, three times the 3.7% of 1967
  9.9% live with nonrelatives, up from 1.4% in 1967
  9.7% live with other relatives, up from 2.9% in 1967

Living arrangements of women aged 25 to 34
45.1% live with a spouse in 2017, down from 82.7% in 1967
15.3% live with other relatives, up from 8.5% in 1967
14.1% live with a partner, up from just 0.2% in 1967
11.5% are the child of the householder, more than double the 5.3% of 1967
  8.8% live alone, nearly four times the 2.3% of 1967
  5.2% live with nonrelatives, up from 1.0% in 1967

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Living Arrangements of Adults

Millennials Living with Parents

Twenty-three percent of high school sophomores of 2002 were living with their parents ten years later in 2012, according to the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. The longitudinal survey is tracking a representative sample of 2002 high school sophomores as they confront the challenges of adulthood.

Asians, Hispanics, and Blacks are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to be living with their parents. Here are the percentages of 2002 high school sophomores who were living with their parents in 2012, by race and Hispanic origin...

Asians: 39.2%
Blacks: 28.3%
Hispanics: 32.2%
Non-Hispanic Whites: 18.1% 

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Early Millennials: The Sophomore Class of 2002 a Decade Later

Attitudes Toward Multigenerational Living Arrangements

When asked whether it is a good idea or a bad idea for older parents to move in with grown children or for grown children to move back home to live with their parents, younger generations are much more enthusiastic about multigenerational living arrangements...

Older parents moving in with grown children is a good idea
Millennials: 69%
Gen Xers: 72%
Boomers: 51%
Older: 30%

Grown children moving back home to live with parents is a good idea
Millennials: 52%
Gen Xers: 57%
Boomers: 41%
Older: 32%

Note: Millennials are aged 22 to 39; Gen Xers are aged 40 to 51; Boomers are aged 52 to 70.
Source: Demo Memo analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Living Arrangements of Young Adults, 1975 and 2016

The lives of young adults have changed dramatically over the past 40 years, according to a Census Bureau report. A comparison of the living arrangements of 18-to-34-year-olds in 2016 with the living arrangements of their counterparts more than 40 years ago in 1975 shows just how much has changed...

• Only 27% live with a spouse, down from the 57% majority in 1975.
• Nearly one-third (31%) live with their parents, up from 26% in 1975.
• One in eight (12%) lives with an unmarried partner, up from just 1% in 1975.
• More live alone—8% in 2016, up from 5% in 1975.
• One in five (21%) has some other living arrangement, up from 11% of 1975. 

Perhaps the biggest difference between then and now is that there's no longer a dominant type of living arrangement for the age group, making young adults increasingly difficult to target.

Source: Census Bureau, The Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood: 1975–2016

SIPP Data Reveals New Details on Living Arrangements

The Census Bureau's 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation provides new details about the living arrangements of Americans. This is who Americans lived with in 2013 (note: categories are not mutually exclusive)...

Living arrangements

Live with a spouse: 39.2%

   Opposite-sex spouse: 39.0%

   Same-sex spouse: 0.2%

Live with parent/child: 37.4%

Live alone: 11.6%

Live with unmarried partner: 6.1%

   Opposite-sex partners: 5.7%

   Same-sex partner: 0.4%

Live with other nonrelative: 2.9%

Live with grandparent/grandchild: 0.9%

Live with sibling: 0.9%

Live with other relative: 0.9%

The SIPP survey also looked at changes in household composition. For the great majority of Americans (84 percent) household size and composition did not change over a year's time. Another 11 percent of the population experienced one change in household composition during a year's time—such as a birth or death or someone moving in or out of the household. Five percent of the population experienced two or more changes in household composition.

Source: Census Bureau, Demographics and Living Arrangements: 2013

More Adults Living Without Children

Fifty years ago only about half of adults lived in a household without children under age 18, according to the Census Bureau. Today nearly three-quarters do. The share of adults without children in the household climbed from 52.5 percent in 1967 to 71.3 percent in 2016. Behind the increase are delayed marriage and childbearing as well as the aging of the population. The biggest increase in child-free living has occurred among young adults...

Percent of 18-to-24-year-olds without children in the household

2016: 68.8%

1967: 46.7%

Percent of 25-to-34-year-olds without children in the household

2016: 61.5%

1967: 23.9%

Source: Census Bureau, No Kids in the House: A Historical Look at Adults Living Without Children

What's Behind the Rise in Living with Parents?

Young adults are more likely to live with their parents than with a spouse or partner, according to a Pew Research Center study—the first time in 130 years that living with Mom and Dad has been more popular than living with a partner. In 2014, 32.1 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds were living in a parent's household, while a smaller 31.6 percent were living with a partner (married or cohabiting).

What's behind this trend? The author of the report, Pew's Richard Fry, disputes the assumption that the rise is due to the growing share of Blacks and Hispanics in the young adult population because the trend is also pronounced among non-Hispanic Whites. Instead, Fry finds the postponement of marriage a more likely factor. "The shift away from marriage can account for the entire increase in living with parents since 1960," he notes.

Fry adds this important caveat: "This does not imply, however, that the shift away from marriage has 'caused' the increase in living with parents, because other social and economic factors may have reduced the attractiveness of marriage for young adults and, at the same time, made living independently of parents more difficult."

Source: Pew Research Center, For First Time in Modern Era, Living with Parents Edges Out Other Living Arrangements for 18-to-34-Year Olds

Living Alone Is #1 Household Type

The number of people who live alone has surpassed the number of married couples without children at home, making lone living the most common household type in the United States...

Percent distribution of households by type in 2015
28.0%: people who live alone
27.6%: married couples without children under age 18 at home
20.5%: married couples with children under age 18 at home
12.5%: female-headed families
  6.4%: unrelated people living together
  4.9%: male-headed families

Source: Census Bureau, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014

Fewer Millennials Live Independently

Young adults aged 25 to 34 are less likely to live independently than were their counterparts in 2007, according to an analysis of Current Population Survey data by Pew Research Center. Pew defines independent living as heading one's own household or living in a household headed by a spouse, unmarried partner, or other nonrelative. 

The percentage of 25-to-34-year-olds who live independently is 86 percent among those with a bachelor's degree, 79 percent among those with some college, and 75 percent among those with a high school diploma or less education. Regardless of educational attainment, the figures are lower in 2015 than in 2007. 

Behind the decline in independent living is less money. Median weekly earnings for 25-to-34-year-olds in 2015 are below the 2007 level, after adjusting for inflation...

Median weekly earnings of 25-to-34-year-olds
Bachelor's or more: $951 in 2015, still less than the $966 of 2007.
Some college: $560 in 2015, well below the $640 of 2007.
High school or less: $500 in 2015, below the $527 in 2007.

Source: Pew Research Center, More Millennials Living with Family Despite Improved Job Market

Changes in Living Arrangements, 1967 to 2014

The living arrangements of adults have changed dramatically in nearly every age group over the past half century. A new set of tables available from the Census Bureau allows you to see at a glance the changes since 1967...

Living with Mom and Dad (18 to 24): Surprisingly, men in this age group are no more likely to live with their parents today than their counterparts were in 1967—57 percent in 2014 and 58 percent in 1967. Women, however, are more likely to live with Mom and Dad as they postpone marriage—51 percent were living in their parents' home in 2014, up from 42 percent in 1967.

Staying single (25 to 34): Men and women in this age group are much less likely to be married and living with a spouse today than in 1967. For women, the married share fell from 83 to 47 percent between 1967 and 2014. For men the figure plummeted from 83 to 38 percent.

Stability, sort of (35 to 64): This is the age group with the most stability in living arrangements. Nevertheless, between 1967 and 2014 the married share fell substantially among both men (from 86 to 65 percent) and women (from 77 to 62 percent).

More couples (65 to 74): The married share of women in this age group climbed from 45 to 57 percent between 1967 and 2014, while men's married share barely changed (falling from 79 to 75 percent). Behind the change for women is increasing life expectancy, delaying widowhood.

Living alone (75-plus): Men and women who have been widowed are now more likely to live alone than with other relatives (mostly adult children). In 1967, the reverse was true.

Source: Census Bureau, Table AD-3, Living Arrangements of Adults, 1967 to Present

Most Young Adults Boomerang

The boomerang phenomenon is real. By age 27, most young adults have returned to their parental home for a period of time or never managed to leave, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In an analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, BLS researchers examined the living arrangements of a representative sample of 27-year-olds. Here is their boomerang status...

Never left parental home: 9.8%
Left parental home, but returned: 11.6%
Left parental home, returned, left again: 37.7%
Left parental home, never returned: 40.9%

By age 27, fully 90 percent of young adults had moved out of their parental home. But the 55 percent majority of those who left boomeranged, returning home for a period of time. Those most likely to return home were young adults with a bachelor's degree (59 percent) and those whose families had the highest incomes (58 percent).

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Independence for Young Millennials: Moving Out and Boomeranging Back

Nursing Home Population Plummets

The number of nursing home residents aged 65 or older fell by a substantial 19 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to a Census Bureau report on the older population...

Number of people aged 65 or older who live in a nursing home
2010: 1,252,635
2000: 1,557,800

During those years, the percentage of people aged 65-plus who live in a nursing home fell from 4.6 to 3.1 percent. "The declining trend may partly reflect a growing preference for alternative settings for long-term care," notes the report.

Source: Census Bureau, 65+ in the United States: 2010