Give me stats on people in their 20s staying at home in 2023/24 compared to the 1980s

1. What the headline numbers say: a near‑record return to the parental home

National surveys and Census analyses converged on the same headline by 2023: roughly 45% of Americans aged 18–29 were living with their parents, a level described as the highest in about 70–80 years by outlets citing a Harris Poll for Bloomberg and reporting summaries ^{[1] [5]}. For the slightly older slice—25‑ to 34‑year‑olds—Census‑based reporting and Pew analysis put the 2023 share living with a parent at about 18% nationwide, equivalent to some 8.5 million adults ages 25–34 in one housing analysis ^{[3] [4]}.

2. How that compares to the 1980s: clear increase from a lower baseline

Long‑run Census and Pew tabulations show living‑at‑home rates for young adults were substantially lower in the early 1980s; Pew summarizes that the share of young adults living with parents was about 31% in 1981, and remained near that level through 2007 before the more recent rise ^[2]. That means, on a comparable basis, the roughly 45% figure for 18–29‑year‑olds in 2023 represents a marked increase over the 1981 baseline ^{[2] [1]}.

3. Age slices matter: the surge is concentrated among early‑twenties

Researchers tracking cohorts from 2007–2023 emphasize that younger age groups—especially 18–24 and early 20s—have driven the rise, with more than half of 18–24‑year‑olds in some years co‑residing with parents and peak co‑residence in 2020 ^[6]. By contrast, the 30–34 group remained a much smaller share living at home (single‑digit to low‑teens percent range across recent years) even as it crept up slightly since 2007 ^[6].

4. Why the narratives differ: definitions, data sources and which age group is counted

Different outlets highlight different metrics: the 45% “record high” headline focuses on 18–29‑year‑olds and a recent Harris Poll (survey) measure, while Census and Pew data emphasize 25–34 or 18–34 bands and produce lower or more granular percentages such as the 18% figure for 25–34‑year‑olds in 2023 ^{[1] [3] [5]}. The Census’s time‑series tables and Pew’s long‑term analysis show trends back to the 1960s and 1980s, and they make clear that age cutoffs and survey years change the headline substantially ^{[7] [2]}.

5. Context and caveats: pandemic effects, economic pressure and lasting shifts

Analysts document a spike around 2020 coinciding with the pandemic that raised co‑residence across age groups, and while rates eased somewhat after the peak, the 2023 levels remained elevated relative to the 1980s baseline ^[6]. Reporters and policy notes link moves home to financial pressure—saving, student debt, housing affordability and job market shifts—and broader delays in traditional milestones of adulthood, with Census-era milestone tracking showing declines in rates of independent living combined with employment, marriage and parenthood compared with previous decades ^{[8] [6]}.

6. Bottom line and limits of reporting

Measured consistently, young adults in the 2023–24 period are more likely to live with parents than their counterparts in the early 1980s: the best comparable snapshots show a rise from roughly 31% in 1981 to around the mid‑40s (for 18–29) and about 18% for 25–34 in 2023, with most of the increase concentrated among those in their early 20s ^{[2] [1] [3]}. Sources differ in age bands and methods—Census tables, Pew analyses and private polls produce slightly different estimates—so precise comparisons depend on choosing the same age range and data series ^{[7] [2] [1]}.