Moving back in with parents is the new normal for young adults
Washington DC, April 28, 2026 - A new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Thrivent Financial finds that returning home to live with their parents is becoming a defining feature of life for young adults.
Financial concerns and considerations often drive young adults to move back home, either due to necessity or for proactive planning. While a majority of current or past boomerang kids describe moving back as financially necessary, some say financial benefits played a role but weren’t the only driver of their decision. Economic pressures continue to reshape the idea of home ownership, as three in ten young adults (aged 27-35) who haven’t bought a home yet say they don’t expect to ever purchase one. Looking ahead, one of the primary reasons that young adults cite for potentially returning home would be to save for a down payment on a home of their own.
Supporting adult children continues to come at a cost, often impacting both short and long-term financial goals. Nearly half of current boomerang parents report having some area of their finances impacted by their child’s return home. Over four in ten boomerang parents say they are willing to cut personal spending to financially support their adult children, while nearly one in five would be willing to reduce their personal savings or retirement contributions.
About the Study
This poll was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Thrivent Financial from March 24 – April 3, 2026, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 2,325 general population Americans. In addition, oversamples were included in three target Metropolitan Statistical Areas to achieve n=500 total completes for each area. The sample for these MSA oversamples came from a combination of KnowledgePanel and supplemental non-probability (opt-in panel) sample.
The main survey was conducted using the web-enabled KnowledgePanel®, which is the largest and most well-established online panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in these households are invited to join and participate in the web-enabled KnowledgePanel®. For those potential panel members who do not already have internet access, Ipsos provides a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methods, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and provide fully representative online samples to the research community.
The study was conducted in both English and Spanish. The U.S. gen pop data (KnowledgePanel 18+) were weighted to adjust adjusted to align with the following geodemographic distributions of the aged 18+ U.S. population using an iterative proportional fitting (raking) procedure. The demographic benchmarks came from 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) from the US Census Bureau. The weighting categories for the national, general population sample were as follows:
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-34,35-49,50-64,65+)
- Race-Ethnicity (White/Non-Hispanic, Black/Non-Hispanic, Other/Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races/Non-Hispanic)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) by Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
- Household Income (under $25K, $25-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
- Language Dominance (English Dominant Hispanic, Bilingual Hispanic, Spanish Dominant Hispanic, Non-Hispanic)
The target MSA oversamples were weighted using a multi-step process to reflect the population characteristics of each area. First, design weights for KnowledgePanel (KP) MSA assignees were computed to reflect their selection probabilities. These design weights were then adjusted to align with geodemographic distributions of the aged 18+ MSA population using an iterative proportional fitting (raking) procedure, with benchmarks obtained from the 2024 American Community Survey (ACS). Next, opt-in MSA respondents were adjusted to align with both ACS geodemographic benchmarks and four calibration variables, with calibration benchmarks basedon the weighted KnowledgePanel MSA respondents. Lastly, KP and opt-in respondents were combined based on their respective effective sample sizes and adjusted to final benchmarks. The weighting categories for the final combined MSA sample were as follows:
Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18-35, 36-49, 50-65, 66+)
Race-Ethnicity (categories varied by MSA based on population composition)
Education (Less than High School/High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
Household Income (under $25K, $25-$49,999, $50K-$74,999, $75K-$99,999, $100K-$149,999, $150K and over)
Language Dominance (English Dominant Hispanic, Bilingual or Spanish Dominant Hispanic, Non-Hispanic)
Calibration Variable 1 – Watch TV (Less than 3 hours/day, 3+ hours/day)
Calibration Variable 2 – Internet Use (Less than 3 hours/day, 3+ hours/day)
Calibration Variable 3 - Express Political/Community Opinions Online (Less than once a month or more often, Not at all)
Calibration Variable 4 - Try New Products (Not at all/Somewhat, A lot/Completely)
The margin of sampling error for the U.S. gen pop sample is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the nationally representative total. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.08. The margin of sampling error for the Denver MSA subsample is plus or minus 6.7 percentage points and for the Minneapolis MSA subsample is plus or minus 5.9 percentage points, both at the 95% confidence level and taking into account design effects of 2.36 and 2.03, respectively. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
About Ipsos
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Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques.
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