New Jersey just earned a title nobody asked for.
According to a new study from FinanceBuzz, New Jersey has the highest rate of young adults living at home of any U.S. state, with 44.1% of adults aged 18 to 34 still living with their parents.
This Is Not a Laziness Problem
Here is what people get wrong about this stat.
Young adults living at home are not sitting around. They are surviving a system that has made independence genuinely difficult to achieve. The FinanceBuzz data makes the reason clear.
The top states for young adults living at home share one thing in common: they are all expensive. Look at the list:
- New Jersey: 44.1%
- Connecticut: 41.3%
- California: 39.1%
- Maryland: 38.5%
- New York: 35.9%
These are not struggling states. They are some of the wealthiest, most densely populated, most expensive places to live in the country. And their young adults cannot afford to leave their childhood bedrooms.
Compare that to the states at the bottom of the list:
- North Dakota: 12.3%
- Wyoming: 16.2%
- South Dakota: 17.7%
Lower cost of living. More space. More affordable housing. More young adults living independently.
The math is not complicated.
The Numbers Keep Getting Worse
This is not a post-pandemic blip. It is a decades-long trend.
In 1960, just 22.5% of young adults aged 18 to 34 lived at home. Today that number sits at 32.9% nationally, nearing the pandemic-era high of 33.5% recorded in 2020.
Nearly 65 years later, we have not improved. We have gotten significantly worse. Young people aged 25 to 34 are living with their parents at more than double the rate they were in the 1970s.
And it is not equal across genders either. Nearly one in five men aged 25 to 34 still live at home, compared to about one in seven women.
What Is Actually Driving This in New Jersey
Spoiler: it is not avocado toast.
The primary contributors are housing costs at near-record highs, student loan debt, wage growth that has not kept pace with inflation. An unstable job market is also a major factor, particularly in tech sectors where younger workers are concentrated.
And a recent unemployment rate exceeding 5% is another part of the problem. There are not enough jobs, and recent grads are feeling the pinch.
In New Jersey, all of those problems are amplified.
Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in most parts of the state easily runs $1,800 to $2,500 a month. Entry-level salaries in many fields do not make that realistic without roommates, subsidies, or family support. And the job market has not been kind.
Living at home is not a failure, it is a survival strategy.
The Parent Side of This Equation
Nobody talks about what this costs the parents.
More people in the house means more groceries, more utilities, more of everything. The financial burden on older Americans is greater than it has ever been, and for those on fixed incomes or approaching retirement, having adult children at home adds real financial pressure.
At the same time, most of us are glad to have them there. That part is complicated. You want your kid safe. You also want them thriving and independent. Both things are true at the same time.
So What Changes?
Honestly? Nothing changes fast.
Housing costs in New Jersey are not dropping anytime soon. Student loan debt is not disappearing. Entry-level wages are not keeping up with rent prices. Jobs are not as plentiful as in the past. These are structural problems, not personal ones.
But here is what I would tell any parent or young adult navigating this right now:
- Staying home to save is smart, not shameful. Use the time intentionally.
- Set a goal and a timeline. Even a rough one. It creates momentum.
- The job search takes longer than anyone tells you. Nine months felt like forever. It ended.
- Pennsylvania is right next door. So is a lot of other more affordable territory, if they are willing to make the move.
New Jersey earned this stat the hard way. High cost of living, competitive job market, and a culture where parents open the door and keep it open.
That is not a flaw. That is family.
But at some point, we have to ask harder questions about why so many of our kids cannot afford to leave.
Data sourced from FinanceBuzz’s Full Nesters study, based on U.S. Census Bureau data and the 2024 American Community Survey.
