NEW YORK CITY — Gen Z and millennial New Yorkers just can’t seem to fly from the nest, according to a new study.
Nearly four out of five Zoomer — or 79 percent — adults still live with their families in New York City, a recent RentCafe study found.
And they weren’t the only (relative) youngsters in the city who are slow-to-leave. The study found 28 percent of millennials still live in multigenerational households.
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So, what’s keeping millennials and Gen Z at home? Spoilers: it’s not TikTok, but several factors.
“For instance, younger generations may find it more appealing to continue living in the parental home in order to save money on expenses, such as childcare costs, utility bills, rent or a future down payment,” the study states. “On the other hand, it’s also likely that more and more Millennials and Zoomers might choose to remain home to care for family members.”
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Nationally, 20 percent of millennials and 68 percent of Gen Z-ers still live with other family members, the study found.
New York City’s percentages are higher than the national level, but aren’t quite at the top for metro areas, the study found.
The city is ranked third and eighth nationally for the highest percentage of millennials and Zoomers, respectively, living with their parents, according to the study.
But by sheer numbers, New York City has the highest number of millennials and Gen Z-ers still living at home, with 1.2 million and 2.2 million, respectively, according to the study.
And they’re largely staying there — over the past five years, the city has seen a 39 percent decrease of millennials and 13 percent drop in Gen Z-ers who live at home, the study found.
Other metro areas have seen much sharper drops, such as Milwaukee’s 62 percent or Indianapolis’ 41 percent, according to the study.
Overall, the study found that nationally many millennials and Zoomers don’t expect to leave home soon.
“According to a RentCafe survey, more than 40% of Millennials (47%) and Gen Z-ers (41%) expect to continue sharing their home with someone else for at least another 2 years,” the study states.
Read the full study here.
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