Two-Thirds of Young Adults That Moved in With Parents During the Pandemic Are Still Living There

A recent LendingTree study surveyed more than 1,300 US parents, Gen-Zers, and millennials and found that two-thirds of young adults who moved in with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic are still living there. Fifty one percent said they moved home to out of necessity, while 49% said they moved home to save money. Saving for a down payment on a house or apartment rental and clearing debt topped the list as for a reason to move back home.

The LendingTree study has broken it down into age groups as well. The younger demographics are more likely to already have moved back out.

• Out of the almost 3 in 10 Gen-Zers who moved home, 13% have already left.
• For the 18% of younger millennials (aged 26 to 34), 14% have gone back to independent living.
• Of the 17% of elder millennials (aged 35 to 41) who moved in with parents during the pandemic, only 8% have left. This could be to help take care of aging parents as well as paying down debt.

The study also asked how parents felt about having their empty nest filled. Most, 56%, said they would let their children live at home and 29% have/are currently living with grown children. Other interesting statistics from the study found that 73% of parents said they wouldn’t charge rent; however, most would add rules and financial agreements to adult children moving in. The most popular contributions were having help with cleaning and cooking (58%) and cash for groceries and household expenses (56%). Also important to parents is for the child to be employed (53%). Other arrangements noted include rent payments (27%), planning a move-out date (11%), and setting a curfew (10%).