Most young adults fail to achieve traditional markers of adulthood. Compared to previous generations, fewer young adults are (1) living away from their parents, (2) working, (3) married, and (4) living with a child. In 2024, only 21% of those who are 25 to 35 years old in the U.S. have achieved all four adulthood milestones.
At age 35, I had only achieved two of four traditional markers of adulthood: living away from parents and working. Almost every conversation with my parents or extended family led to questions about when I was getting married and having kids. A dozen years living away from home, a Ph.D., a career, a mortgage, and an eight-year relationship didn’t seem to count for much. “The curse stops with me” was my preferred response, which I hoped would temper questions about marriage and kids.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1975 and 2024 Annual Social and Economic Supplements offer insights on the morphing character of young adulthood. The top five most common circumstances of young adults at each period are listed below.
Back in 1975, 45% of people 25-35 in the U.S. had achieved all four adulthood milestones. 22% of young people lived away from parents, were married, and had children. 15% lived away from parents, worked, and were married. 6% lived away from parents and worked. 3% were in the labor force.
In 2024, 21% of people 25-35 in the U.S. had achieved all four adulthood milestones. 28% of young people lived away from parents and worked. 14% lived away from parents, worked, and were married. 9% were in the labor force. 8% lived away from parents, worked, and had children.
The most common milestones associated with becoming an adult have changed over the past fifty years. Today’s young adults prioritize economic security over getting married or having children. Several societal changes contributed to these shifting norms: women’s participation in the workforce, access to reproductive healthcare, varied family structures, more people choosing to live unpartnered or with parents, and the high costs of housing, food, healthcare, and other expenses.
Fewer young adults get married or have kids today. Young adults are delaying marriage or skipping it altogether. Correspondingly, young people are delaying having children or choosing childless lifestyles.
Labor force participation is now the primary marker of adulthood for young adults. Decades ago, a significant portion of young adults, mostly women, did not work, but achieved other traditional markers of adulthood. This is no longer the case. Today, it is more likely for a young adult to be an unwed parent who works and lives away from one’s own parents than it is to be a married, stay-at-home parent who lives away from one’s own parents.
Home ownership remains elusive for young adults. The average age of a first-time homebuyer in the U.S. is now around 40. The median home in the U.S. now costs more than $400,000, up about 90% in the last decade. The high cost of home ownership also drives up the cost of rent, which diminishes how much young people can save to purchase a home. The result is more young people living with parents or other family. In fact, more than 1.5 million more adults under age 35 now live with their parents compared to a decade ago.
Despite my declarations to the contrary, the curse did not stop with me. By my early forties, I had achieved all four traditional markers of adulthood by getting married and having a child. Like most young adults today, I did not achieve all of the traditional adulthood milestones by age 35. Now, my septuagenarian family members want to know when I’m having a second kid. I guess they didn’t read my September column explaining declining birth rates in the U.S.
Roscoe Scarborough, Ph.D. is chair of the Department of Social Sciences and associate professor of sociology at College of Coastal Georgia. He is an associate scholar at the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies. He can be reached by email at rscarborough@ccga.edu.
Reg Murphy Center