The nest isn’t so empty anymore.
For the first time in more than 130 years, young adults are now more likely to be living with their parents than on their own or with a spouse or domestic partner, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census data.
Through 2014, 32.1 percent of Americans between 18 to 34 were living with Mom and Dad, compared with 31.6 percent living with a spouse or domestic partner, according to Pew.
Researchers said the shift is fueled primarily by a dramatic decline in the number of young Americans who settle down romantically before the age of 35.
“Dating back to 1880, the most common living arrangement among young adults has been living with a romantic partner, whether a spouse or a significant other,” according to Pew senior economist Richard Fry.
In 1960, 62 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds were living with a spouse or partner — the highest on record — but the percentage has consistently dropped since, the study noted.
Also in 1960, just 20 percent of the 18-to-34 crowd still lived at home. “Broad demographic shifts in marital status, educational attainment and employment have transformed the way young adults in the US are living,” according to Fry.
Only 14 percent of millennials are living on their own or as a single parent, and 22 percent fell into none of those categories, according to Pew.
One of the great determining factors in the home-vs.-spouse-or-partner divide is education.
By 2014, 36 percent of those between 18 and 34 without a bachelor’s degree lived with Mom and Dad. But among those with sheepskins, only 27 percent were with their parents.
Researchers also surmised that the recession of 2008 is still having an impact on where young people are living.
“College enrollments expanded, boosting the ranks of young adults living at home,” Fry wrote. “And given the weak job opportunities facing young adults, living at home was part of the private safety net helping young adults to weather the economic storm.”