Highly paid women are just as likely to live with their parents. Men? Not so much

For men, higher employment rates and higher wages were linked to much lower rates of parental living. Yet, “no significant effect is observed for women,” according to the CRR.

While “rising rental costs, fewer rental vacancies and general price increases since the Great Recession” are major factors, “other forces that are harder to measure also seem to be at work.” Those forces include a decline in marriage and birth rates.

This trend “raises potential concerns about their future social and economic prospects, potentially delaying household formation and wealth accumulation.”

Delaying major milestones

Many young adults are delaying major milestones such as marriage and homeownership.

As a result of financial constraints, more than three in 10 Gen Zers (31%) have postponed buying a house, 20% delayed marriage and 24% delayed having children, according to Northwestern Mutual’s Planning & Progress Study 2026.

This could have a detrimental effect over the long run. Another study found adults aged 25 to 34 who live with their parents were “less likely to form independent households and be homeowners 10 years later, compared with those who were renters or homeowners in the same age bucket,” according to researchers with the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute.

Those who left home and became homeowners earlier also had lower mortgage debt, “suggesting that those who lived with their parents did not save more to put toward a higher down payment.”

Since homeownership is important for future wealth-building, researchers suggest young adults who live with their parents could face long-term financial consequences. But getting a foot in the door of the housing market is increasingly difficult for younger generations, thanks to high housing prices and high mortgage rates — not to mention a shortage of starter homes. To put it in perspective, home prices have skyrocketed 235% since 2000.

Baby boomers — many of whom already have home equity — continue to be the largest group of homebuyers this year, according to the 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Just 4% of home buyers are Gen Zers, although that’s up from 3% last year.

Thinking outside the box

While Gen Zers still make up a small sliver of homebuyers, 35% of that generational group are single females and 17% are unmarried couples, according to NAR.

“They may still be a small share of the market, but they’re already challenging old assumptions about who buys a home and when,” Dr. Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist, said in a release. “For many of these buyers, marriage and children are no longer the defining milestones before a home purchase.”

So, for younger generations flying the coop, thinking outside the box — such as buying a home with a friend or sibling — may help them reach certain milestones faster.

On the other hand, some young adults are choosing to put their money in stocks instead, either skipping homeownership altogether or viewing their brokerage account as an alternative route to homeownership.

A Redfin study found one in five Gen Z and millennial home buyers (20.4%) sold stocks to fund a down payment on a home, while 12.7% used cryptocurrency.

These days, it’s easy to download an app and start trading — no matter what your level of financial literacy — but that can be risky. Many financial advisors recommend a diversified approach to investing and warn against a reliance on crypto and meme stocks.