More young adults are living with their parents in New Orleans
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We may not have basements, but that hasn't stopped more young New Orleans adults from living with their parents than in the average U.S. household, a recent analysis finds.
Why it matters: While living at home as a young adult is sometimes viewed negatively as a "failure to launch," it can also reflect economic realities, cultural preferences, caregiving needs and other factors.
The big picture: Nearly 18% of U.S. adults aged 25-34 were living in a parent's home as of 2023, per a Pew Research Center analysis of census data.
- That's down a bit after steadily increasing from 2000-2017, a period marked by multiple financial crises that changed the leaving-home calculus for many young adults.
New Orleans beat the national number with 23.6% of its young adults living at home, Pew says.
- That's also more than in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, which both had 17% of young adults at home, the data shows.
Zoom out: California and Texas are home to the major U.S. metro areas with the greatest shares of young adults living with their parents, the data shows.
Between the lines: Metros with more white young adults than average tend to have lower-than-average shares of young adults living with their parents.
- That jives with longstanding findings that white young adults are less likely than others to live with their parents, per Pew.
The intrigue: While some areas with relatively high shares of young adults living at a parent's home also have relatively steep housing costs, Pew didn't find a clear link between those factors.
The bottom line: Even when young adults do move out, they often wind up close to home anyway.