New Jersey leads nation in young adults living with parents, census says

It's the lament of cash-strapped young adults and it's heard more often in New Jersey than anywhere in the country: "I live with my parents."

An analysis of 2017 data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 47 percent of New Jerseyans aged 18 to 34 years live with mom and dad (or one of the two), which is the highest percentage among the 50 states. In a time of rising student debt, housing costs and other expenses, an estimated 884,000 of the state's 1.87 million residents in that age group share living space with parents.

The highest concentrations of young adults living at home are in Hunterdon, Sussex, Monmouth, Passaic and Somerset counties, the analysis found.

New Jersey is well ahead of the 42 percent of Connecticut's young adults facing the same situation.  Rhode Island and New York have the next highest percentages (41 percent), and they are followed by Florida (40 percent). 

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At the opposite end are young adults in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Wyoming, which are home to some of the cheapest housing costs in the country. In those states, 15 percent to 23 percent of 18-to-34-year-olds live with parents.

A look at what it costs to live in New Jersey versus elsewhere provides some clues as to why so many young people in the state are making do with parents paying some of the bills.

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The typical rent, for example, was $1,284 last year in New Jersey, fifth highest in the nation, and the median home ownership cost was $1,848, which ranked second, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Add in student loans, car payments, car insurance, utilities, cell phone bills and taxes and not much is left over from the median wage of about $40,000 for people ages 25 to 34.

That money goes a good bit further in, say, the Midwest, where median monthly rents in 2017 in most states ranged from $700 to $1,000 and monthly home ownership costs ranged from $800 to $1,200.