According to the United States Census Bureau, living arrangements have changed dramatically over the last decade. Young Adults (1834) are more likely to be living with their parents than any other arrangement. As reported in The Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood 1975 – 2016, the US Census Bureau found:
- More young people today live in their parents’ home than in any other arrangement: 1 in 3 young people, or about 24 million 18 to 34 year olds, lived in their parents’ home in 2015.
- In Fairfield County 38.2% of young adults age 18 to 34 live with a parent, up from 33.7% in 1980. This compares to 30% of young adults nationally and 35.3% in Connecticut.
- Fairfield County young adults are more likely to be employed (68.7%) than the national average (65%).
- Young people are delaying marriage, but most still eventually tie the knot. In the 1970s, 8 in 10 people married by the time they turned 30. Today, not until the age of 45 have 8 in 10 people married.
- Between 1975 and 2016, the share of young women who were homemakers fell from 43 percent to 14 percent of all women ages 25 to 34.
- Of young people living in their parents’ home, 1 in 4 are idle, that is they neither go to school nor work. This figure represents about 2.2 million 25 to 34 year olds.
- Foreign born young adults constitute 15.4% of the population nationally and 28.1% of the population in Fairfield County.
Source: US Census Bureau.
Pent up Demand Will Unfold, If Slowly
The shift in delayed household formation has altered the trend in housing demand. It will likely change again as pent up demand from young adults living at home unfolds. With only 14% of young women serving as homemakers, the percentage of dual income families has increased substantially. While the delay in household formation is to a large extent attributed to financial conditions whether employment uncertainty educational debt loads or difficulty obtaining a mortgage under current regulations it is still uncertain whether pent up demand will be unleashed quickly based on improving economic or financial conditions or whether the demand will unfold more slowly. In any event these dual income families will have significant purchasing power once they have cleared certain hurdles.
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