Millennials and Gen Z-ers notoriously fly the coop later than previous generations, staying in parents' or other relatives' homes longer due to economic conditions that have put housing out of reach for many. More than 40 percent of them nationwide expect to stay put for at least two more years, according to a recent RentCafe report.
Bucking the trend, however, Austin has the 13th largest share of adult Gen Z-ers leaving their parental home, RentCafe found. The metro's millennials are also making the shift to living independently, although at a slower pace than in Houston or San Antonio; the study found Austin has one of the lowest percentages of millennials living with their parents in the entire nation.
For the study, the apartment search site used data from the University of Minnesota's Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, looking at the number of individuals living in multigenerational households across 260 U.S. metro areas from 2022 and 2018 estimates.
Other key Austin findings from the report include:
- Gen Z-ers: 33% of Austin’s Zoomers left their parental home in the last five years. Thus, 67% of adult Gen Z-ers are still stuck in their family homes — just below the national average of 68%.
- Millennials: Millennials living with relatives in Austin dropped by 34% in the last five years, now comprising only 15% of their generation. That’s in stark contrast with the share in Los Angeles (35%) or New York (28%).
- Texas: Houston and San Antonio saw the 11th and 15th largest drops in Millennials living with their parents – 47% and 44%, respectively. As for Gen Z-ers who haven’t left the nest, Houston has one of the largest shares in the nation – 73%.
- Nationwide: 68% of adult Gen Z-ers and 20% of Millennials still live with other family members. Raleigh has the largest share for Gen Z-ers (87%) and Los Angeles for Millennials (35%). The typical Millennial or Gen Z-er living with a family member is likely to be employed in food services, construction, education or retail.
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