DATA WHERE-HOUSE

It is often said that home is where the heart is. And never before has that calling been any louder in higher education, as the need for Universities and Colleges to know exactly where “home” is stands at a premium. With a clear strategy to replenish outdated contact data and enough persistence, the welcome mat is usually close at hand. But not all doors swing both ways, and if it’s a revolving one, finding your way in may be quite a challenge.

It should come as no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed millions of Americans, especially young adults, to move in with family members. In fact, the share of 18- to 29-year-olds living with their parents has become a majority for the first time, surpassing the previous peak during the Great Depression era.

Compounding this shift in living conditions, the frequency in which people of all ages move nowadays are at historical lows, and it appears that Millennials are a big part of it.

The dynamics of communicating with one another in this new age has placed each indivudual’s personal preferences at a premium. From traditional snail mail – landline – cell/smart phone – email –SMS text –social media – and the internet in whole, the complexities and opportunities in multi-channel marketing are here to stay.

For the past two decades, AlumniLocators has been at the forefront in developing new solutions to help locate the data you need most, and it starts quite simply — by listening. Our passion to understand your objectives is what drives us, as we continue to improve our business processes with more advanced search systems, and deeper data repositories at lower cost which we pass on to you!

In July, 52% of young adults resided with one or both of their parents, up from 47% in February, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of monthly Census Bureau data. The number living with parents grew to 26.6 million, an increase of 2.6 million from February. The number and share of young adults living with their parents grew across the board for all major racial and ethnic groups, men and women, and metropolitan and rural residents, as well as in all four main census regions. Growth was sharpest for the youngest adults (ages 18 to 24) and for White young adults.

How we did this

The share of young adults living with their parents is higher than in any previous measurement (based on current surveys and decennial censuses). Before 2020, the highest measured value was in the 1940 census at the end of the Great Depression, when 48% of young adults lived with their parents. The peak may have been higher during the worst of the Great Depression in the 1930s, but there is no data for that period.

The share of young adults living with parents declined in the 1950 and 1960 censuses before rising again. The monthly share in the Current Population Survey has been above 50% since April of this year, reaching and maintaining this level for the first time since CPS data on young adults’ living arrangements became available in 1976.

Young adults have been particularly hard hit by this year’s pandemic and economic downturn, and have been more likely to move than other age groups, according to a Pew Research Center survey. About one-in-ten young adults (9%) say they relocated temporarily or permanently due to the coronavirus outbreak, and about the same share (10%) had somebody move into their household. Among all adults who moved due to the pandemic, 23% said the most important reason was because their college campus had closed, and 18% said it was due to job loss or other financial reasons.

These new living arrangements may have an impact not just on young adults and their families, but on the U.S. economy overall, reflecting the importance of the housing market to overall economic growth. Even before the outbreak, the growth in new households trailed population growth, in part because people were moving in with others. Slower household growth could mean less demand for housing and household goods. There also may be a decline in the number of renters and homeowners, and in overall housing activity. Between February and July 2020, the number of households headed by an 18- to 29-year-old declined by 1.9 million, or 12%. The total went from 15.8 million to 13.9 million.

The vast majority of young adults who live with their parents – 88% – live in their parents’ home, and this group accounts for the growth in the population of adult children living with their parents. Nearly all of the remainder live in their own homes along with their parents, or in homes headed by other family members. These shares have been relatively stable for the past decade.