The only “bills†most millennial men are concerned about these days are attached to their trendy snapback hats. For the first time in the modern era, living with parents has “edged out†other living arrangements for young adults, and consistently more men than women are opting to live at mom and dad’s place, according to Pew Research center.
A little more than 32 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 were living in their parents’ home in 2014, and according to Pew, young women are more likely to be living with a spouse or romantic partner (35 percent) than they are to be living with their parents (29 percent). The numbers are almost opposite for young men – 28 percent of them were living with a spouse or partner in their own home and 35 percent were living in the home of their parents in 2014.Â
It’s hard to pinpoint why women are more likely to move out of their parents’ house earlier in life, but it probably has something to do the with social factors contributing to the rise in women’s independency, Gretchen Peterson, chair and professor at the U of M’s sociology department, said.
 “You have more women who are planning careers and planning things before they get married then might have been traditional decades ago,†Peterson said. “So, I think you might have young women seeing more opportunity for themselves as independent women then perhaps my parents or grandparents would have thought.â€
The number for adults ages 18 to 34 living with their parents actually peaked around 1940 when about 35 percent of the same group lived with parents.Â
“My grandmother – she moved away to Washington to go take a job and lived alone for a while before she got married, and that was kind of scandalous,†Peterson said.Â
Sociology department chair Gretchen Peterson explains why women might be more likely to live outside their parents’ home than young men in 2017. Peterson’s own grandmother lived by herself in Washington at a time when an unmarried woman doing so was considered somewhat “scandalous.”
For men ages 18 to 34, living at their parent’s home has actually been the dominant living arrangement since 2009, but Carlton Hubbard is a bit of an anomaly. The 21-year-old U of M health science senior lives on his own and prefers it that way because it’s “relaxing.â€
 “When I get home I have peace and quiet,†Hubbard said. “I don’t have to hear my parents complaining about me leaving my shoes in the living room or the trash that needs to be taken out.â€
Hubbard said that this is a plus when he has to study for exams, and that he is able to “express†his “individuality†and embrace himself more by having his own place.
“I don’t think living arrangements has anything to do with gender,†Hubbard said. “All college students eventually want to live on their own.â€
Kayla Williams, 21-year-old business junior, said that living with her parents is “very easy†for her “to deal with.â€Â     Â
“It can be difficult at times because my parents have rules that I have to abide by since I do live with them,†Williams said. “My curfew being at 1 a.m. on weekends is the only problem I have.â€
Despite the curfew, Erica Williams – Kayla’s mother – said she let’s her daughter have “as much freedom as she wants.â€
“It makes it very easy for us to get along when she follows rules of the house,†mother Williams said. “When she decides to live alone I want her to be prepared for the bills and other important responsibilities.â€
Though the mom of a stay-at-home student, Erica was once a college student that lived alone.
“I found out how overwhelming it became when I had to pay bills and go to school,†she said. “You sacrifice a lot when you stay on your own than you do when you stay with your parents.â€
It’s hard to pinpoint why women are more likely to move out of their parents’ house earlier in life, but it probably has something to do the with social factors contributing to the rise in women’s independency, Gretchen Peterson, chair and professor at the U of M’s sociology department, said.Â
