If you hear of a young adult living with parents and picture a twentysomething “slacker” lounging in his pajamas in mom’s basement, well, get with it.

The new reality is that, for the first time in more than 130 years, residing with parents is now the most common living arrangement for young adults.
Adults ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents’ home than they were to be living with a spouse or partner in their own households, according to a new Pew Research Center study.

Pew’s analysis of census data through 2014 found that 31.6% of young adults were living with a spouse or partner in their own household, while 32.1% were living in the home of their parent(s). Some 14% were heading up a household in which they lived alone, were a single parent, or lived with one or more roommates. The remaining 22% lived in the home of another family member (such as a grandparent, in-law or sibling), a non-relative, or in group quarters (such as college dormitories).

The change in living arrangements over the past 50 years is stark: In 1960, nearly two-thirds of the nation’s 18- to 34-year-olds were living with a spouse or partner in their own household, and only one-in-five were living with their parents.

While the economy is certainly a major factor in this 21st Century phenomenon, the growing tendency of delaying or avoiding marriage among young people is also key. Young adults without a college degree are more likely to live with parents than their grad counterparts. And the number of young black adults living with a family member rather than a spouse or “significant other” is through the roof.

Here are some highlights of the Pew study:

* In 2014, 28% of young men were living with a spouse or partner in their own home, while 35% were living in the home of their parents. Young women are still more likely to be living with a spouse or romantic partner (35%) than they are to be living with their parents (29%).
* By 2014, 36% of 18- to 34-year-olds who had not completed a bachelor’s degree were living with their parents, compared with only 19% among college graduates.
* Record-high shares of black and Hispanic young adults (36% for each group) lived in the home of their parents in 2014, compared with 30% of white young adults. Only 17% of blacks between 18 and 34 were living with a spouse or romantic partner in 2014.

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