States Where the Most People Live With Their Parents

Detailed Findings & Methodology

Most Americans believe completing one’s education should be a top priority for people facing adulthood. In a National Opinion Research Center survey, 60% of U.S. adults said it is extremely important to complete one’s schooling. In states where a large share of people graduate from college, especially with a graduate or professional degree, more people live with their parents.

Even after graduation, when student debt can contribute to financial insecurity, adults often choose to live with their parents.

Finding a full-time job and being economically secure is the next most important aspect of the transition to adulthood, according to the NORC survey. Since a low unemployment rate generally indicates that it is easier to find a job in an area, it is not especially surprising that states with the lowest jobless rates tend to have the lowest shares of people living with their parents. In contrast, states that have higher unemployment rates tend to have high shares of people living with their parents.

To identify the states where the most people live with their parents, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the share of 18 to 34 year olds living with their parents in each state with data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 report, “The Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood: 1975–2016.” The cost of living in each state, or regional price parity, came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and are for 2014. The median age of men and women when they were first married in each state came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Consumer Survey. We calculated an average age at first marriage weighted using the ratio of male to female populations in each state between 15-54 years old — the same age group considered within the male and female median age at first marriage figures.