More women between the ages of 18 and 34 are living with their parents or other relatives than in the 1940s, according to Pew Research Center.
In 1940, 36.2 percent of young women, or women age 18-35, lived with their parents or relatives. This was previously the highest percentage of young women living at home on record.
John Brown University women have varying opinions on living at home.
“If you aren’t married and have college debt, living with your parents would be a good option,” Clare Holden, sophomore elementary education major, said. “It is probably what I will do.”
Liz Meyer, junior outdoor leadership ministries major, said that she thinks these statistics show that people in the millennial generation tend to postpone adulthood because of a belief that they can be anything they want and that they should love their jobs.
“Either they just become paralyzed because they don’t know exactly what to do, or they have this image that they should be 100 percent satisfied with their jobs,” Meyer said. “And when they don’t have the perfect job, which doesn’t really exist, rather than sticking with it or trying to improve it, they quit and feel like they’ll always have home to go back to.”
Meyer said that she does not plan to return home after her graduation from the University.
According to Pew, the percentage of women who lived with parents and relatives was the highest in 1940 due to World War II, which limited working opportunities. It decreased after 1940 because of marriages and because women were able to work. Despite the similar statistic, the reason women are living at home now is vastly different.
“Today’s young women are more likely to be college educated and unmarried than earlier generations of American women in their age group,” Pew said.
The number decreased until about 1960 when the lowest percent of young women living at home reached 20 percent according to Pew. After this it gained slightly but not substantially. However, since 2000 the rate has greatly increased, going from around 25 percent to 36.4 percent.
The numbers for marriage of young women have also been cut in half. Only 30 percent of young women are married.
The Pew study noted that women are 5 times more likely to attend college than in the 1960s, with 27 percent of young women currently in college, compared to 5 percent in the 1960s. This has also increased the number of young women at home because, according to Pew, women who are attending college are far more likely to live at home then women who are not in college.
Men also live at home in strong numbers. They follow the same pattern, though they have not had quite as sharp of an increase since the 2000s. They have not returned to their all-time 1940 high of 47.5 percent that was brought on by the Great Depression.
However, they are still at home more than their female counterparts with 42.8 percent of men ages 18-34 living at home.