PROVIDENCE – A new report says 8.8% of adults in the Providence-Warwick metro area were living with their parents in 2019, the ninth-highest percentage among large metro regions in the U.S.
The report, by domain search website Namechk.com, used data from U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey to determine that 7.3% of adults age 25 and older were living with their parents nationwide – 1.5 percentage points below Providence’s rate.
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According to the report, experts predict the percentages to climb higher as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report noted that the share of adults living with their parents varied widely by gender and race/ethnicity, as well as by location. The share of adults living with their parents was much higher than even 20 years ago due to factors such as lower marriage rates, rising housing costs and, more recently, higher unemployment rates.
The share of adults 25 and older residing with their parents rose 80% over the last two decades. In 2001, the share of adults 25 and older living with their parents was just 3.9%, per the study. After rising to 7.3% in 2016, the figure remained largely unchanged for several years.
The study said that new data from the Pew Research Center found that the pandemic resulted in a substantial increase in the share of young adults aged 18 to 29 years old living with their parents, from 47% in February 2020 to 52% just a few months later.
A summary of the data for the Providence metro area, based on the 2019 American Community Survey:
- Percentage of adults living with parents: 8.8%
- Total adults living with parents: 99,947
- 10-year change in adults living with parents: an increase of 2 percentage points.
The statistics for the entire United States:
- Percentage of adults living with parents: 7.3%
- Total adults living with parents: 16.1 million
- 10-year change in adults living with parents: an increase of 1.4 percentage points
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., ranked highest among large metro areas in the report with 11.6% of adults living with their parents.
The other top 10 rankings were:
2. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas – 11.1%
3. New Orleans-Metairie, La. – 10.8%
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. – 10.6%
5. Memphis, Tenn. – 10.2%
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla. – 10.2%
7. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. – 9.4%
8. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. – 8.9%
9. Providence-Warwick – 8.8%
10. New York-Newark-Jersey City – 8.7%
Both economic and cultural differences affect how likely adults are to remain living with their parents, the report said.
For example, states in the Midwest that are more affordable and have above-average marriage rates tend to have fewer adults still living with their parents. Examples include North Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. In contrast, states with lower marriage rates that are either highly expensive, such as Hawaii, Rhode Island and California, or have more limited job opportunities, such as Louisiana and Mississippi, generally report larger numbers of adults still living in their parents’ home.
The study noted that while young adults are more likely than older adults to move back home, the pandemic will undoubtedly build upon the longer-term trend of more adults overall choosing to reside in their parents’ households.
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Shuman@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @CassiusShuman.
