Why Young Americans are Delaying Moving and Marriage

Bloomberg — Young Americans are taking longer to move and get married these days.

In 2021, 68% of 25-year-olds lived outside their parents’ home, 22% were married and 17% had a childaccording to a Pew Research Center analysis of the latest available data from the Census Bureau. In 1980, 84% lived alone, 63% were married and 39% had a child, according to the report.

The problems facing the millennial generation, defined by Pew as people born between 1981 and 1996, are well documented. Student loan debt, skyrocketing housing costs, and an economy battered by the financial crisis and other economic upheavals have made finances difficult for many young Americans.

In general, the situation is not so bleak. Pew found that 60% of 25-year-olds were “economically independent” in 2021, up from 63% in 1980.

The analysis highlighted five frequently cited milestones of adulthood: having a full-time job, becoming financially independent, living alone, getting married and having a child. It found that today’s young women are more likely to be financially independent: 56% of 25-year-old women will be financially independent by 2021, up from 50% in 1980. Men fare worse: only 64% are economically independent, up from 77% in 1980.

The percentage of 25-year-old women working full time remains stable at 61%, while that of men has fallen to 71% from 85% in 1980, according to Pew.

Read more at Bloomberg.com