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More millennials are living with their parents than ever since 1940

November 12, 2015
(Yoo Jae-il)

(Yoo Jae-il)

More women in the U.S. are living with their parents today than they were in 1940, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis.

Of women aged 18 to 34, 36.4 percent of them — compared to 36.2 percent in 1940 — were living with their families in 2014.

The number is higher for young men in the same age range. Last year, 43 percent of young men were living at home — the highest year on record since 1940, when the data record began.

In 1960, by comparison, 24 percent of young people were living separately from their parents. Pew said that figure increased until 2000.

According to Pew, the number of millennials staying home with mom and dad has grown noticeably since the recession in 2008.

Economics play a large part in explaining these numbers. In 1940, nearly half of all young men lived with their parents as an aftereffect of the Great Depression, but young women were leaving their nests faster due to early marriage.

In 2014, the women living at home are much more likely to be college-educated — five times as much, in fact — and unmarried, meaning rising college costs contribute to their staying home.