Most young people have typically been keen to escape from their parents and have their own places as soon as they can. Sometimes they are unable to do so for financial reasons, however, especially in areas where good-paying jobs are hard to find and/or where rents are high. Demographics and cultural norms may play a role in keeping offspring at home, too. Some ethnic and religious communities are known for particularly strong family ties, which may mean more than two generations living under the same roof, with young people staying at home until they get married. (When it’s finally time to leave, these are 40 places where young people are moving.)

24/7 Tempo has identified the states where the most adults live with their parents by reviewing data on age and household composition from the U.S. Census Bureau’s February 2022 Current Population Survey. States were ranked based on the percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds who were living with at least one biological, step-, or adoptive parent as of February 2022. Data on the percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds who live with their spouse came from the same source. Supplemental data on the January 2022 unemployment rate for all age groups came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is seasonally adjusted. Data on the median home value of occupied housing units came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

Click here to see the states where the most adults live with their parents

Maryland tops our list, with almost half of the state’s 18- to 34-year-olds living with their parents. Two obvious factors contribute to this situation: Maryland has relatively high home values as well as the nation’s fourth-highest unemployment rate, at 5.4%. Neighboring Delaware and nearby New Jersey occupy the No. 2 and 3 spots, with 45.8% and 45.1% of adults living with parents, respectively. Both states also have expensive real estate, so it looks like a regional issue. (These are the most expensive states to live in.)

A regional pattern is evident at the other end of our list, too. In South Dakota, only 17.6% of adults live with parents. It’s followed by Montana and North Dakota, where the figures are 19.7% and 20.2%, respectively. These and other states in the Midwest and West are characterized by fairly robust economies with low unemployment and relatively low home values.