More people in late 20s still living with parents

In 2006, some 13% of people in the UK aged between 25 and 34 were living with their parents.

By last year, that had increased to 18%, according to the IFS – an independent economic think-tank.

That equates to about 450,000 more young adults still living in the family home – with the increase concentrated on those in their late 20s, researchers found.

Of 25 to 34-year-olds, men were more likely than women to be living at home, at 23% compared with 15%.

The IFS said that this age group had changed over recent decades, so had become less likely to be married and have children. They were also more ethnically diverse, and UK-born young people from Bangladeshi and Indian backgrounds were more likely to live with their parents.

The peak of adult children living at home was during the pandemic, when more than a fifth of 25 to 34-year-olds did so.

Now, in more normal times, parents may hope their grown-up children would fly the nest, but many of the 20-somethings would wish they could afford to do so.

The IFS said finances were a significant sticking point, with rising rents and house prices fuelling the trend.