One in 5 DC-Area Millennials Lives with Mom

• May 7th 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

The percentage of millennials in the DC region who live with their parents has shot up in the last 15 years.

A Zillow analysis released on Monday shows that, in the DC area, 21.6 percent of millennials, defined as being 23-37 years old, live with their mothers — more than one in five. By comparison, 12.5 percent of DC-area adults in that age bracket lived with their mothers in 2005.

The one-in-five proportion is on par with the rest of the country, as 21.9 percent of millennials live with their moms nationwide, a record-setting share for the 21st century. Since 2001, the share of 23-37 years old living at home has more than doubled, from 6.8 million (11.7 percent) to 14.3 million. 

While housing affordability has a lot to do with it, the median rental in the DC area only requires 25 percent of a typical renter's income, well below the generally-accepted affordability threshold of 30-35 percent. The DC area is faring better than many other high-priced rental markets as far as millennials not living with their moms, as at least 31 percent of 23-37 years olds in markets like Miami, Los Angeles and New York City still live at home.

Recent studies have revealed that this generation of renters need to save money for a down payment 1.5 years longer than renters did 30 years ago, and that those who live with their parents without paying rent are able to afford a down payment three years sooner than rent-payers. 

The report, which uses American Community Survey data and Zillow's Rent Index, also notes that some millennials may actually be hosting their parents in their households.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/one-in-5-dc-area-millennials-lives-with-mom/15364.