The stay-at-home generation: More young Australians are living with their parents for longer

A rising number of young Australians are remaining in the family home after finishing school, as economic and social factors drive them to delay independent living, according to new research. And they’re staying longer, with a marked increase in 20-somethings still living at home over the past two decades.

Just over 54 percent of young men and 47 percent of young women aged between 18 and 29 years are still living in the family home, according to the 18^th annual report for the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The survey tracks the lives of 17,000 Australians and reports each year on various aspects of life, including health and education, household and family relationships, and income and work. The latest HILDA data was collected in 2021 during the pandemic.

HILDA Survey Co-Director, Professor Roger Wilkins from Melbourne University, said the trend of more young people remaining in the family home began in the early 2000s. He attributes it to a variety of social and economic elements.

“We’ve seen a rise in higher education participation, declining full-time employment opportunities for young people, a rising cost in housing, and a trend towards later marriage and family formation,” he said.

Over the past 20 years, the prevalence of young people living with their parents has been highest among those aged 18 to 21 years, which is unsurprising given these are the first few years of post-school adulthood when many young people are studying and unable to work full time. However, the data also shows that young people are living with mum and dad for longer periods — and well into their 20s.

Among 18 to 29-year-olds, the age category that has seen the most growth in young men living at home is 22 to 25 years. It’s up 12 percent from 42.1 percent in 2001 to 54.1 percent in 2021. Among women, the age category with the highest growth is 18 to 21 years, up 17.6 percent from 61.9 percent in 2001 to 79.5 percent in 2021. The age category with the second highest growth rate for both men and women is 26 to 29 years, up 9.9 percent for men and 11.6 percent for women since 2001.

Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at Melbourne University, Lyn Craig, said the trend has broad macroeconomic implications for Australia. “Since the mid-20-teens, fertility has fallen below replacement in Australia for the first time and I think that has something to do with the price of housing and young people not being able to afford to establish an independent household away from parents,” she said.

During the early 2000s when this trend began, the Australian housing market was in a boom and buying was difficult for young people to afford. Today, simply renting has become hard to afford, particularly following a 40 percent surge in rents nationally since the pandemic began.

While some young people are constrained by economic factors, others are likely delaying independence by choice, Professor Wilkins said.

“Some young people would like to start their adulthood journey and to have their own home but Australia’s economic conditions aren’t allowing that. On the positive side, as a richer society with longer life expectancy, perhaps some young people are making a rational and conscious choice to delay getting into the hard yakka of life. They decide to enjoy themselves and have some fun while they are still young.”