Research: The clipped wings generation

The lack of affordable housing is by far the main reason that people aged 20 – 34 and in work give for living at home with their parents. Among this group 67% said housing affordability was a factor in their living arrangements, and nearly half (48%) said it was the one main factor. Less than three in ten working adults aged 20-34 and living at home with their parents say they want to live with them (27%) – meaning that for 73%, it is in no way a desired choice.

Over half of working adults aged 20 – 34 who live at home with their parents (52%) are worried that this is holding them back from having an independent life. The majority (75%) of young adults living at home with their parents were working. Of the 2.62 million people aged 20 - 34 that were living at home with their parents at the time of the 2011 Census, nearly 2 million (1.97 million) of these were working.