Nearly a third of Millennials live with their parents – but those who live alone or with roommates are happier about their housing circumstances, more financially independent and have more savings, according to a new survey.

Some 31 percent of people born from 1981-1997 live at home with their parents, according to U.S. Census data.

More than 22 percent of those Millennials are unhappy with their living situation, while 28 percent of are 'very' or 'extremely' satisfied to be living with their parents, according to a new survey of 1,095 people by Comet, a student loan website.

By comparison, more than half (58.8 percent) of Millennials who live alone or with a roommate are 'very' or 'extremely' satisfied with their housing, and just 4.2 percent are dissatisfied.

This chart illustrates the proportion of Millennials who are satisfied - and unsatisfied - with their living arrangements, broken down between those who live on their own and those who live with parents

'While Millennials have gotten this bad reputation of living with their parents and being deadbeats, I think the data shows a little bit of a different story,' said Comet project manager Claire Cole. 'It's more out of necessity or thinking big picture than, "I don't want to be a real adult so I'm going to stay with mom and dad."'

Cole told DailyMail.com that Millennials are facing unique challenges - including sky-high college costs, and those factors sometimes force them to make 'trade-offs' when it comes to their living situation. But it doesn't mean they're happy about it.

In fact, Millennials who live with their parents were 5.5 times more likely to be unhappy with their living arrangements compared to peers who have moved into their own spaces.

Millennials who fled the nest are also much more likely to feel satisfied with their level of independence than those who remain at home: Some 69.7 percent of those who live alone or with a roommate reported feeling 'very' or 'extremely' satisfied with their independence, compared to 27.5 percent of home dwellers.

In addition, just 2 percent of those who moved away from home feel dissatisfied with their independence, compared to 27.3 of those who still live with mom and dad.

While living at home offers a more affordable option to moving out, Millennials who chose to get their own place tended to fair better financially – though it's unclear if they were moving out because they have greater job security and higher pay than their at-home counterparts.

While the overall U.S. unemployment rate has been reaching record lows, many Millennials remain low-paid or underemployed – which could be a factor keeping some of them at home.

Three-quarters (75.7 percent) of Millennials who moved out of their parents' homes had full-time work, compared to 54 percent of those who stayed with mom and dad. Unemployment was also higher (12.8 percent) among those who stayed home compared to those who moved out (3.8 percent).

Those who live independently also tend to make more money, with 40.5 percent of them making $50,000 or more per year, compared to 21.5 percent of their home-bound peers who can say the same.

This chart illustrates employment status among Millennials, breaking out those who live with their parents and those who live on their own

This chart illustrates how much Millennials earn, broken down between those who live with parents and those who have moved out on their own

Those who lived at home were also twice as likely to say they were not at all satisfied with their careers.

Millennials who moved out of their parents' homes had higher housing costs (an average of $853.10 compared to $286.70) and were more likely to pay rent or mortgage (80.1 percent compared to 29.7 percent).

They also tended to have more savings ($11,310 compared to $7,464) and more money left over at the end of each month after the bills were paid ($693.60 compared to $584.60).

When it comes to student debt, the difference between at-home Millennials and those who have moved out is negligible – nearly 49 percent of both groups still carry that debt, indicating that living with parents doesn't necessarily make it easier to pay down loans.

Those who live on their own carry an average of $27,106 in student loan debt, compared to $25,187 among those who live at home.

Living with parents also has an impact on Millennials' dating lives, with 31 percent of those at home saying they are not at all satisfied with their romantic lives. By comparison, just 11 percent of independent Millennials are unhappy with their dating circumstances.