The public health and economic toll the coronavirus pandemic caused are well documented. Perhaps less understood are the social impacts. According to a report from Pew Research Center, young adults in the United States were more likely to be living with at least one parent in July 2020 than at any time since the Great Depression.
The historic numbers of young adults either moving back home or choosing to remain there during the pandemic appears to have been a continuation of a broader trend. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 34.4% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 lived with at least one parent, grandparent, or former guardian in 2019 — compared to 31.5% in 2010.
The likelihood of young adults residing with their parents varies considerably from state to state.
There are 993,000 people between the ages of 18 and 34 in Kentucky — and only 29.6% of them, a far smaller share than average, live with either their parents or grandparents.
Young adults might choose to live with their parents or former guardians for any number of reasons, though many also do so out of financial necessity. In Kentucky, however, cost of living is so low that financial incentives for living at home are somewhat reduced. Goods and services are 12.6% less expensive than average in Kentucky than they are nationwide, one of the lowest costs of living of any state.
To determine the states where the most young adults live with their parents, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on family and household type from the Public Use Microdata Sample summary files of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. States were ranked on the percentage of adults 18 to 34 years old who live with their biological parents, adoptive parents, steparents, foster parents, or grandparents in 2019. Supplemental data on the median age at first marriage of the 15 to 54 year-old cohort came from the Census Bureau’s 2019 ACS. Data on regional price parity used to calculate cost of living came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and is for 2019.
| Rank | State | 18-34 year-olds living with parents (%) | Median age at first marriage (years) | March 2021 unemployment (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | 45.1 | 30.3 | 7.8 |
| 2 | Florida | 40.5 | 30.3 | 5.3 |
| 3 | California | 40.2 | 30.3 | 8.2 |
| 4 | Mississippi | 39.7 | 27.3 | 6.3 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 39.6 | 31.1 | 8.3 |
| 6 | Maryland | 39.5 | 30.2 | 6.0 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | 38.8 | 31.2 | 7.2 |
| 8 | New Mexico | 38.3 | 30.1 | 8.0 |
| 9 | New York | 37.7 | 30.7 | 8.5 |
| 10 | Hawaii | 37.4 | 29.6 | 8.6 |
| 11 | Georgia | 36.8 | 29.0 | 4.0 |
| 12 | Illinois | 36.2 | 29.9 | 7.1 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 36.0 | 29.2 | 4.8 |
| 14 | Louisiana | 35.7 | 29.2 | 6.6 |
| 15 | Texas | 35.6 | 28.4 | 7.2 |
| 16 | Alabama | 35.4 | 27.9 | 3.4 |
| 17 | Michigan | 35.0 | 29.5 | 5.2 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | 34.9 | 29.6 | 3.2 |
| 19 | Delaware | 34.3 | 30.5 | 6.6 |
| 20 | Arizona | 34.1 | 29.5 | 6.5 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | 34.1 | 29.8 | 7.3 |
| 22 | Massachusetts | 32.9 | 30.7 | 6.6 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 32.9 | 28.9 | 4.6 |
| 24 | Virginia | 32.7 | 29.2 | 5.1 |
| 25 | West Virginia | 31.7 | 27.5 | 6.1 |
| 26 | Nevada | 31.4 | 29.2 | 7.6 |
| 27 | Tennessee | 31.3 | 27.8 | 5.1 |
| 28 | Alaska | 31.0 | 28.7 | 7.1 |
| 29 | Ohio | 30.4 | 29.1 | 4.9 |
| 30 | Arkansas | 30.4 | 26.4 | 4.8 |
| 31 | Indiana | 29.9 | 28.5 | 4.7 |
| 32 | Kentucky | 29.6 | 27.7 | 5.0 |
| 33 | Utah | 29.5 | 25.8 | 2.9 |
| 34 | Missouri | 28.8 | 28.1 | 4.4 |
| 35 | Maine | 27.8 | 29.2 | 5.4 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 27.3 | 26.8 | 4.1 |
| 37 | Oregon | 26.7 | 29.6 | 6.5 |
| 38 | Wisconsin | 26.4 | 28.8 | 4.8 |
| 39 | Minnesota | 26.3 | 29.0 | 4.5 |
| 40 | Washington | 26.1 | 28.8 | 6.1 |
| 41 | Idaho | 26.0 | 26.7 | 4.0 |
| 42 | Vermont | 25.9 | 30.0 | 3.3 |
| 43 | Montana | 25.2 | 28.3 | 4.4 |
| 44 | Kansas | 25.2 | 27.4 | 3.8 |
| 45 | Colorado | 24.6 | 28.9 | 6.5 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 21.5 | 26.8 | 3.3 |
| 47 | Nebraska | 21.4 | 27.3 | 2.8 |
| 48 | Iowa | 21.1 | 27.8 | 4.4 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 20.3 | 26.0 | 5.9 |
| 50 | North Dakota | 14.3 | 27.4 | 4.8 |
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