What stats tell us about 440,000 young adults living with parents

Analysis: CSO statistics tell us a lot about the experiences of young adults and their parents living at home together due to the housing crisis

Housing is one of the most talked about social issues and there has been particular focus of late on the number of young adults who are living with their parents and the lived experience of those in this situation. To get more information on what the statistics say, we spoke to Gerry Reilly, a senior statistician from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), to give an insight into the data and what it tells us.

How many young adults are living with their parents?

Census 2022 told us that over 440,000 young adults were living with their parents, up 13% from Census 2016. This accounts for 41% of people aged between 18 and 34 in Census 2022. In Census 2016, 37% of this cohort lived at home and it was 32% in Census 2011.

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From RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime, the number of young adults still living with parents has almost doubled

What else do we know about those living at home with their parents?

The figures show that the older you are, the less likely you are to live at home. In 2022, 24 was the cut-off age at which more than half of people were no longer living with their parents, which was up from 23 years in 2011. One in five (20%) people aged 30 at the time of Census 2022 were living with their parents, up from 13% in 2011. The figures vary by region: Galway City had the lowest proportion of adults living with their parents in 2022, while South Dublin had the highest.

What do we know about their experiences living at home?

Everyone’s experience of home life is different, depending on our relationships, supports, and challenges. This is why the CSO’s online Pulse survey Life at home 2021 is so valuable as it provides rich insights into this area.

A key consideration is understanding why people are living at home with their parents and the survey showed financial considerations were an important factor. Six in ten (62%) of those who were in full-time employment said they were living with their parents mostly for financial reasons, a further 22% said that it was ‘a little bit to do with finances’ with only 16% saying financial reasons had nothing to do with their decision to live at home.

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From RTÉ Prime Time, the reality of life ‘stuck’ living with parents

How do parents feel about living with adult children?

This was particularly interesting as the results showed a significant difference in how the parents felt about the situation compared with their adult children. Almost six in ten (57%) of those who live with a parent said they enjoyed it, however, of the parents surveyed who had an adult child living with them, 87% said they enjoyed living with an adult child.

This difference in perception was apparent as almost nine in ten (88%) of those who were living with a parent said they would prefer to move out, while 50% of parents would prefer if their adult child moved out.

How did those living at home feel about their independence?

This section of the survey also provided interesting results, as more than half of respondents (52%) who were living with a parent felt their parent(s) would not treat them as an adult unless they moved out.

The feeling of a lack of independence came through very strongly with seven in ten (70%) saying they did not have enough independence to have friends around or in their choice of meals.

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From RTÉ Radio 1’s Brendan O’Connor Show, the trials and tribulations of adult children and parents living at home together, with parents Donal McElligott, Cauvery Madhavan and Brenda Power as well as Brenda’s son Jim Christle

What do we know about how bills are shared?

Running a household costs money and we were keen to get insights around how families negotiated this issue. What we found was overall, more than eight in ten (83%) of those in full-time employment who lived with a parent said they contributed to household expenses, with 64% of those in part-time employment contributing to such expenses, and 29% of students doing so.

Do we know what sparked most disagreements?

We found that household chores, using shared household facilities, and noise were the most common causes of disagreements. Six in ten (60%) respondents who lived with a parent said they Sometimes or Often disagreed with others in the household about chores.

More than two in ten (22%) adults living with both parents said their father’s opinion mostly prevails and double the amount (44%) said it is their mother’s opinion that mostly prevails when there is a disagreement between their parents.

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From RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime, should parents charge rent to their children living at home?

What does CSO data tell us about the profile of house buyers?

The median age of residential property buyers increased from 35 to 39 years between 2010 and 2021. For purchasers with a mortgage, the median age rose from 33 to 43 years in the same period. Looking at the profile of buyers, we can see that first time buyers accounted for 54% of dwelling purchases in 2010, but this fell to 35% in 2023.

While the median price paid by a purchaser with a mortgage was €309,000 in 2021, the median loan amount was €220,000 for the same period. In 2010 the median price paid by a purchaser with a mortgage was €247,000 and the median loan amount was €191,000.

Results from the 2020 Household Finance and Consumption Survey show that homeowners overall are more than twice as likely as renters to have received at least one inheritance or substantial gift at some point in their lives (44% compared with 18%). The value of the gift or inheritance was also much greater on average for homeowners compared to renters, with median values of €98,300 and €15,200 respectively.

Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest percentage point.

The CSO publishes a wealth of data on housing and more information can be found online or on various social channels.

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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ