Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Study Explains Why So Many SoCal 20-Somethings Move Back In With Mom and Dad
The trope of the twenty-something living with his or her parents because of expensive rents and failed job searches: It's less a parody than a sad trend for millions in their mid to late 20s, especially in Southern California.
About 1 in 5 25- to 29-year-olds nationwide lived with their parents during the Great Recession, which ended officially in 2009. But the number ballooned to almost 30% for the same age group in three key metro areas in Southern California during 2007 and 2009, a new study finds.
The report, titled "During the Great Recession, More Young Adults Lived with Parents" was written by sociologist Zhenchao Qian of Ohio State University.
The Oxnard-Ventura-Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metro areas ranked sixth and seventh respectively in the top 10 metro areas with the highest percentage of 25- to 29-year-olds living at home (both 28 percent). Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario followed close behind at number 10 with 26 percent.
Support for LAist comes from
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Qian's research, based on an analysis of census data, shows that the trend of young adults staying with their parents occurred across the U.S. but was strongest in large metropolitan where high living costs and high unemployment came as a double whammy. The top 10 metropolitan areas on his ranking included New York, Miami, Honolulu and El Paso.
Qian's findings showed that men were more likely than women to live at home, minorities more than whites, and those with less formal education. Qian proposed a few explanations, suggesting that men may be under less pressure to help with housework if they move back home and that:
Strong kinship ties among African Americans, normative patterns of extended family living among Latinos, and intergenerational family obligations among Asian Americans may also give rise to co-residence with parents, especially when compared with their white peers.
Of course, "virtually every demographic segment of the US population was affected," not just those in a period of "emerging adulthood."
Qian notes:
The late 2000s Great Recession was very large in duration, scale, and impact ...The job loss during the Great Recession was severe by historical standards and the average duration of unemployment was the longest in recent memory. The recession hit young adults the hardest because they were often “last hired, first fired.” Job losses during the recession spread beyond historically disadvantaged groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities and immigrants; they also were experienced among college-educated workers. Many young adults find it comforting to return home - to double up with their parents when times are tough.
Support for LAist comes from
Satires of the "emerging adult" are everywhere in popular culture: Charlize Theron's stunted ghost-writer in "Young Adult," the girls in Lena Dunham's "Girls," Todd Solondz's upcoming "Dark Horse," even in those silly Toyota Venza commercials where the parents are fun and active while the kids are maladjusted homebodies. Qian even started out his report referencing Matthew McConaghey's Tripp in 2006's "Failure to Launch." The general tone of all this attention is at once permissive and mocking of the moving-back-home trend.
But the metro areas with the lowest percentage of young adults living at home are those with smaller populations. So if you're tired of living in your childhood bedroom in Ventura (even if Mom insists on doing your laundry) maybe you want to consider moving to one of the cities on the bottom of the list: Boise City, Colorado Springs or Austin, anyone?
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago. -
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
Best of LAist