The case for moving out: Why adult kids still living with their parents should get their own place — now

For nan first clip successful years, nan mathematics mightiness yet favor renters. Across nan country, prices for studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom apartments are dropping.

In May 2025, nan nationalist median rent fell for nan 22nd period successful a row, according to information from Realtor.com®—a motion that nan rental marketplace is softening aft years of soaring costs and intolerable trade-offs.

But contempt this uncommon opening, millions of young adults aren’t seizing nan opportunity to move out.

Instead, they’re staying put successful their puerility bedrooms, stuck betwixt be aware and comfort.

This infinitesimal matters. For galore young adults, waiting for the perfect time to motorboat could mean missing the best time.

And nan longer they delay, nan much they consequence falling down successful ways that nary magnitude of rent-free surviving tin fix.

Comfort is expensive

Living astatine location is becoming a defining characteristic of a generation. Nearly half of parents coming person had an big kid move backmost in, according to a caller study from Thrivent.

That displacement made consciousness successful caller years. Rent was often unaffordable, ostentation was brutal, and entry-level wages couldn’t support up pinch mundane costs.

But today’s numbers show a different story. Asking rents person dropped astir crossed nan board: Studios are down 1.9% twelvemonth complete year, one-bedrooms down 2.3%, and two-bedrooms down 1.7%, according to the Realtor.com May 2025 Rental Report. In much than half of nan nation’s largest cities, rent maturation is now trailing wide inflation, thing that hasn’t happened consistently successful years.

For renters consenting to downsize, commute, aliases stock space, nan marketplace is yet cooling capable to connection existent options. Yet galore young adults stay astatine home—not because they person to, but because they can. And while that determination mightiness consciousness safe, experts opportunity it could beryllium costing much than they think.

The procreation that’s falling behind

Living astatine location mightiness postpone rent, but it besides postpones progress.

That’s because a small financial unit is good. It forces young adults to fund pinch intention, create discipline, and build habits that seldom shape erstwhile nan stakes look low.

Thrivent’s survey backs this up: Only 46% of young adults presently surviving astatine location earned precocious marks from their parents for budgeting skills, compared pinch 63% of peers who ne'er moved back.

Even much concerning is that galore young adults aren’t redeeming astatine all, contempt accrued levels of surviving astatine location ostensibly to prevention money. A 2022 Morgan Stanley report found that immoderate boomerang kids were really spending much connected nonessentials, helping thrust a luxury equipment roar among young adults pinch debased surviving expenses and precocious discretionary income.

And erstwhile they do save, it’s often not capable to adjacent nan wealthiness gap. Millennials report having an mean of $110,556 successful savings—nearly half nan mean savings held by boomers, according to a 2025 Newsweek survey. And astir 1 successful 5 millennials has nary savings astatine all.

At a clip erstwhile rents are softening and financial habits could beryllium sharpened, galore young adults are falling further behind—not contempt surviving astatine home, but possibly because of it.

Parents are paying, too

The costs aren’t conscionable borne by big children. Parents are footing a increasing bill, often astatine a pivotal clip successful their ain financial lives.

Thrivent’s information reveals that 38% of parents pinch big children astatine location person seen their status savings return a hit. Also, 39% opportunity it’s affected their expertise to prevention for near-term goals for illustration travel, location repairs, aliases wellness care. Yet 60% of young adults opportunity their parents never discuss these trade-offs pinch them.

This financial soundlessness tin look generous, but it mightiness beryllium undermining some generations.

And nan ripple effects widen beyond nan household. When young adults enactment location longer, they hold cardinal milestones for illustration renting, buying a first home, aliases relocating for amended occupation opportunities. These delays slow down activity successful the broader lodging marketplace and compound nan strain on multigenerational surviving arrangements.

Support without building tin go a trap. Without a plan, what starts arsenic impermanent shelter tin harden into inertia.

The lawsuit for moving out

The costs of surviving mightiness still beryllium high, but the costs of waiting could beryllium higher.

For overmuch of U.S. history, advancement meant motion, argues Yoni Appelbaum, a societal and taste historiographer at The Atlantic. Moving out, whether crossed municipality aliases crossed nan country, was really group chased opportunity, built community, and shaped caller lives. But today, that momentum has slowed to a crawl. Just 1 successful 13 Americans moves successful a fixed year, down from 1 successful 5 successful 1970. Staying put has go nan norm, but that doesn’t mean it’s working.

Living astatine location mightiness look for illustration nan safer choice. But information without maturation tin quickly go stagnation. The longer you enactment successful a consequence-free environment, nan harder it becomes to create nan habits, independence, and self-trust that adulthood requires.

Moving retired doesn’t person to beryllium perfect. It conscionable has to beryllium a start.