If you’re a millennial, hopefully you showed your appreciation for mom last weekend.
According to real estate search and data firm Zillow Group Inc., more of you are living with mom these days.
Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered part of the millennial generation.
Zillow’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found the percentage of young adults aged 23 to 37 (roughly equivalent to the millennial generation) living with their mothers was 21.9% in 2017, up from 13% in 2005.
Young adults in Jacksonville were less likely to live with mom than the rest of the country in 2005, at 10.3%. But the percentage grew to 21% in 2017, nearly equal to the nationwide trend.
The rise in young adults living with their parents is obviously related to economic realities, Zillow said.
“When the housing market went bust and the economy unraveled into a recession, young adults increasingly returned to their childhood home,” Zillow Senior Economist Sarah Mikhitarian said in a news release.
“Despite a strong labor market and fairly robust economic recovery, this trend has continued in the face of rising housing costs and deteriorating affordability,” she said.
Zillow said renters need an extra year and a half to save enough money for a down payment on a home than they would have 30 years ago. However, data shows living with parents rent-free can allow a young adult to afford a down payment nearly three years earlier, it said.
The biggest percentage of millennials living with their parents is found in some of the most expensive rental markets in the U.S. About one-third of young adults in the New York, Los Angeles and Miami areas are living with mom, Zillow said.
Jacksonville has been a more affordable market than other large cities, but it’s becoming more difficult to afford an apartment.
Zillow said the share of median income spent on median rent in Jacksonville is 27.1%, close to the national average of 27.7%.
A second study last week issued by Zillow subsidiary HotPads shows how difficult it is for young adults to rent their own apartment.
New college graduates on average are not making enough money to pay rent on their own, HotPads said.
Based on Census data, it said the average recent graduate with a four-year college degree in Jacksonville would be spending 45.8% of his or her income on rent, based on salaries for new grads.
At least college graduates fare better than nongraduates. HotPads said young Jacksonville adults with no four-year degree would need to pay 72.8% of their income to afford rent.
“Graduating from college still typically pays off in the long run, but slower wage growth for college graduates and rising costs have dampened the immediate financial benefits associated with a four-year degree,” HotPads economist Joshua Clark said in a news release.
“As renters consider their career interests and their short-term costs of living, where and how they live post-graduation can have more of an impact on their finances now than ever before.”