Living Arrangements in Young Adulthood: Results from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

"Over the past few decades, there has been a lengthening of the transition period from adolescence to adulthood in the United States. Milestones commonly associated with entering adulthood – such as finishing school, landing a job, marrying, buying a home, and starting a family – are occurring at later ages. Increasingly, young adults are depending on their families to support them – both financially and emotionally – as they take on adult roles.1,2 Economic times are also harder for this generation than previous ones. Even before the start of the latest recession, employment prospects and associated wages were on the decline for young adults in North America, especially for men.3 Living arrangements in young adulthood have shifted as a result of these new social and economic realities. The traditional paradigm – a married couple living with children in a home that they own – no longer “fits” for a substantial proportion of the young adult population. This brief provides a portrait of the living arrangements of young adults in the U.S. in 2008, before the start of the latest recession. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we examine three important household characteristics: living arrangements, home ownership, and household composition. We explore patterns in these characteristics by gender, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, educational level, and personal income. We address the following questions:  Where are young adults in their late twenties and early thirties living?  Do they own their place of residence?  Who lives with them? Although we cannot yet examine the effect of the most recent recession on the Add Health cohort, this brief lays the groundwork for future post-recession analyses."