August 18, 2016
Research shows that millennials have it tough, at least economically.
Which is why it's no surprise that a Pew Research Center study earlier this year revealed that young people bunking with their parents had become the most common living arrangement for those aged 18-34 in the United States.
Young adults are more likely to live with their 'rents in different parts of the country, however, according to an analysis of 2014 census data by University of Minnesota researchers released Thursday. And among the 50 states, New Jersey tops the list.
Nearly half, or 43.9 percent, of young adults (18-34) in the state are living with at least one parent, the analysis found.
That's about 5 points higher than the second-highest rate in Connecticut, where 38.8 percent of millennials live at home. It's also a more than 10 percent jump from 2000, when 31.3 percent of adults in that age group in New Jersey lived at home.
Pew noted that the trend of more and more young Americans living at home is fueled by a number of economic factors that linger from the Great Recession, such as college debt, rising housing costs and underemployment.
All of those issues are particularly glaring in New Jersey. The state is often recognized as one of the most expensive to live in, and its student loan program has been equated to "state-sanctioned loan sharking."
In neighboring Pennsylvania, the rate of young adults living with their parents was 34.1 percent.
