Soaring Rent and Prices... Half of US Gen Z Still Living with Parents

Bloomberg News Survey of Americans Aged 18-29
Three-Quarters of Respondents Cite "Economic Reasons"

Among young Americans, so-called 'Kangaroo Tribe' who live with their parents account for nearly half. As housing rents and prices soar, increasing living expenses are causing more young people to delay independence for economic reasons.

On the 20th (local time), Bloomberg reported that a survey conducted last month by polling firm Harris Poll targeting Americans aged 18 to 29 found that 45% responded that they live with their parents or grandparents. Although this is lower than the peak of 50% in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is similar to the level during the 1940s following the Great Depression in the United States.

Economic issues were cited as the biggest reason. Among respondents living with their parents, 41% cited 'saving living expenses' as the reason (multiple answers allowed). This was followed by 'caring for parents' at 30%, and 'lack of financial capacity to live alone' at 30%. Responses citing saving for real estate purchase deposits and debt repayment were 24% and 19%, respectively.

Although the job market is still booming, as housing rents rise and prices soar, the burden of living expenses has surged, leading young people to choose living with their parents rather than becoming independent. Bloomberg stated, "Three-quarters of the surveyed young people said they are trapped in navigating a broken economic situation."

In the past, the Millennial generation (born early 1980s to mid-1990s) also often temporarily lived with their parents in their 20s due to difficult economic conditions during the 2008 global financial crisis. Now, Millennials are in their 30s and 40s, own their own homes, and have become independent from their parents, but Bloomberg reported that the Generation Z (born mid-1990s to early 2000s) is following the same path of delayed independence as the Millennials did.

Notably, the young people living with their parents are not limited to low-wage workers. They include young people who have given up job hunting because available jobs do not meet their expectations, employees of companies with relatively low salaries, as well as high-paid IT company workers.

Naomi Alvarado, who majored in business administration at the University of Texas at Arlington and lives with her parents in Texas, said, "People my age have grown up with the dream of going to college, getting a job at an American company, and buying a house. But that dream is difficult to achieve."

Lilian Jang, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and works at an IT company with a high salary, also lives with her parents to save money. Jang said, "In the past, I could get a job, become independent, and save money to buy a house, but not anymore. In this economic situation, it is really difficult to do so."