Moving back in with mom and dad has long been a difficult choice for American adults in financial trouble. Living in the basement is seen as a last resort for many, but that culture might be changing, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.

Despite decreases in the unemployment rate and increases in full-time work and wages for young adults, the percentage of young adults living with family continues to increase. Adults under 34 years old are less likely to live on their own now than they were during the Great Recession.



Courtesy Pew Research Center

During the first months of 2015, 67 percent of millennials lived independently. The decrease in independent living applies to college-educated adults as well as those without a college degree. Men are more likely to live at home than women.

The continuing increase in millennials living with their parents, despite a sunnier economic outlook, suggests that this is what young adulthood is for this generation instead of merely a reaction to the Great Recession.

Why Are More Adults Living at Home?



One factor could be declining rates and postponing of marriage. Married adults are more likely to live on their own – 75 percent of young adults living with their parents were single and never married, while 12 percent were married. Among those living apart from their parents, 46 percent were married and 35 percent were unmarried, according to Gallup.

Soaring home and rent prices, without an equal increase in wages, make living on your own less affordable than it used to be. Especially since millennials are more likely to live in cities where the home and rent prices are more expensive. In 2013, nearly half of renters aged 25-34 were paying 30 percent or more of their incomes in rent — the line considered by economists to be "cost-burdened."

Meanwhile, the insane rise of college tuition means more millennials have students loans that impact their ability to save for buying a home. When young adults do buy a home, many rely on their parents for help with the downpayment, closing costs and other expenses. All of this has contributed to dismal homeownership rates, already hurting after the recession. Rates of home ownership are now at their lowest levels since 1967, with experts expecting even more drops.