Lots of Detroit adults are living at home with parents, new data shows

If you're over the age 0f 25 and find that the lyrics to the Beastie Boys' “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” still resonate with you, and/or Steve Buscemi's “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme hits too close to home, it's likely that you still live with your parents — or moved back in. If this is the case, you are not alone.

According to a recent study published by personal finance website MagnifyMoney.com, analysts used 2018 microdata to calculate the percentage of people between 25-40 years old in 49 metropolitan cities in the U.S. who live in the same household with at least one parent, or who have their own children living in the same household, and/or those who are unemployed and are not part of the labor force.

What did they find? Well, 20.8% of Detroiters between the ages of 25-40 are living at home, ranking the Motor City as having the 12th highest percentage of adults kicking it at casa de parents.

Detroit trails behind cities Miami (29%), Los Angeles (27.2%) New York (23.8%), and Philidelphia (22.2%). The top city, however, for the second year in a row is Riverside, California, where a whopping 29.4% of 25-40-year-olds who are non-students reside with their parents.

The study also identified the average incomes of those who live at home versus those who don't, which found that Detroiters who live on their own make 37% more annually than those living with parents. To move out on their own, Detroiters would have to commit 27% of their income to rent.

Though MagnifyMoney.com used 2018 data, a more recent study published by the Pew Research Center found that 52% of adults between 18-29 years old now live at home as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. The percentage is higher than during the Great Depression.

The pandemic, which caused record unemployment rates across the country, as well as surges in anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns, has played a huge role in the number of young adults who have made the choice to stay at home or move back in. By July, the number of those living with parents increased by 2.6 million, 2.1 million of which were attributed to those in the 18-24 age range as they are among those most likely to lose their job or take a pay cut. The total number of young adults living with parents as of July was 26.6 million.

The Pew Research data found that 9% of those young adults relocated temporarily due to the pandemic and 10% said they have added someone to their household. The reason for moving back home for 23% of those individuals was due to campus closures, while 18% suffered job loss or financial hardship as a result of the virus.

Men are more likely to live with parents than women, though both men and women reported an increase in the number residing with parents since the beginning of the pandemic, the study found. The racial and ethnic gap has narrowed, too. Since February, white Americans accounted for 68% of the increase in young adults living with parents, resulting in 49% of white adults living at home.


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