How Many Young and Older Adults Lived Alone?

The most common living arrangement among 18- to 24-year-olds in 2022 was living in a parent’s home (Figure 1).

More than half of adult men and women in that age group lived in a parental home. In this survey, young adults living in college dorms are counted as living in their parents’ home.

Among 25- to 34-year-olds, a larger share of women (43%) than men (34%) lived with a spouse and about 17% of young adult men and women in that age group lived with an unmarried partner.

Among older adults, about 27% of women ages 65 to 74 and 43% of those age 75 or older lived alone (Figure 2).

In the age 75 and older group, men (67%) were nearly twice as likely as women (35%) to live with a spouse, a reflection of the longer life expectancy of women.   

In 1960, 52% of 18- to 24-year-old men were living in their parents’ home, compared to 35% of women in that age range (Figure 3). By 2022, however, those percentages had increased to 57% and 55%, respectively.

The large increase in the share of women living with their parents is at least partially attributable to the increase in women enrolled in college and marrying later.

A lower percentage of men and women ages 25 to 34 lived in their parents’ home although, as was the case with younger adults, the rates grew from 1960 to 2022.

In 1960, just 11% of men and 7% of women in that age group lived with their parents. By 2022, 19% of men and 12% of women were living in their parents’ home.

Other highlights:

• About 47% of U.S. households in 2022 were married-couple households, down from 71% in 1970.
• In 2022, less than two-thirds of all family groups with children under age 18 were maintained by married parents.
• About 74% of mothers and 91% of fathers with a child in the household were also living with their child’s other parent in 2022.
• In 2018, about 17% of children lived in a household that received food stamps, compared to 20% in 2020.
• In 2022, 5% of married parents and 34% of unmarried parents with a child in the household lived in poverty during the previous year.
• From 2019 to 2021, the share of children with no coresident parent(s) in the labor force increased from about 7% to 8%.

All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing and, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are statistically significant at the 90% confidence level. All data are subject to error arising from a variety of sources, including sampling error, non-sampling error, modeling error, and any other sources of error.

More information on data collection, standards and accuracy is available in the technical documentation.