A man waters the lawn and sidewalk in front of his house beneath an almost full moon in Monterey Park (Photo credit FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — More than 40 percent of millennials in the LA area are living with their parents rather than renting or buying a place of their own, according to a recent study.

About 42 percent of residents ages 18 – 34 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area are living with their parents, according to apartment listing site Adobo, which based its study on an analysis of 2015 U.S. Census data.

The share of millennials living with their parents was even higher — about 45 percent — in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area. About 34 percent of millennials nationally were found to be living with their parents.

So why are millennials a stay-at-home generation?

“The problem isn’t just high rent, or just lack of education, or just unemployment, or just low pay,” the study says. “Often, it’s a combination.”

The unemployment rate for millennials living at home in the LA area was about 9 percent, and the unemployment rate for millennials living at home in the Riverside area was about 13 percent.

Among the study’s surprising findings: about 39 percent of millennials living with their parents nationwide have an associates degree or have completed some college or are enrolled in college, while 32 percent of U.S. millennials living with their parents have only completed high school.

“Millennials are not only earning less than their parents did as young adults, but the majority of millennials who pursue post-secondary education also graduate saddled with an average student loan debt hovering around $30,000,” the study says.

Younger millennials were also more likely to be living with their parents nationwide: about 41 percent of those living with their parents were 18 to 21 years old.