More young adults are living with their parents than at any time since 1940, according to new data. And for today’s millennials, it means that more than a third of young women and almost half of young men will have to say a sad goodbye to that dream of the Rachel-and-Monica-loft from Friends.
The Pew Research Center data shows that about 36% of women and 48% of men ages 18-34 lived with their families in 1940. Young people started moving out mid-century as they became more economically independent, and by 1960 only 24% of young adults total—men and women—were living with mom and dad. But that number has been rising ever since, and in 2014, the number of young women living with their parents eclipsed 1940s—albeit by less than a percentage point. And last year 43% of young men were living at home, which is the highest rate since 1940. There isn’t comparable data for the number of young people living at home before 1940.