With the ongoing surge in home prices over the last couple of years, it may be tempting to assume that a larger share of people are moving in with family to share housing costs.
But newly released analysis of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey by LendingTree, shows these rising home prices may not be causing an increase in the share of multigenerational households (in which three or more generations live under the same roof).
Instead, study findings indicate that even in the face of more expensive housing, the share of multigenerational households declined in most states from 2014 to 2019.
Study highlights:
- Arizona, Nevada and Colorado saw the largest increases in multigenerational households. In the five years between 2014 and 2019, multigenerational households increased by an average of 12.34% across the three states.
- North Dakota, Vermont and South Dakota saw the largest declines in the share of multigenerational households. Across these three states, the share of multigenerational households fell by an average of 24.80%.
- Across all 50 states, there isn’t a strong correlation between home price growth and multigenerational household growth.
- Though multigenerational households became more prevalent in many states, they became less common in the majority. The rate of multigenerational households decreased in 27 states from 2014 to 2019.
The takeaway:
“The long-term impact that the pandemic will have on multigenerational households is still unclear,” said Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economic analyst and report author. With that said, while some people may have opted to move in with family during the height of the pandemic, that doesn’t mean that they planned on staying in a multigenerational home forever. Based on the data that we do have, it does appear safe to assume that even with the disruption to usual housing arrangements caused by COVID, multigenerational households won’t suddenly become the norm in the U.S.”
To view the full report and state rankings, visit: https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/multigenerational-households-study/.
