Amid cost of living stress, many parents are supporting children well into adulthood
Rising costs of living and economic pressures are forcing many American parents to support their adult children well into their 30s and 40s. Data shows a significant increase in multi-generational households as young adults struggle to achieve financial independence.
Why it matters
This trend reflects broader structural economic issues, including housing affordability and wage stagnation, that are reshaping the American family dynamic.
Mabel Lago and her husband are retired and in their 70's. But before they decided to move from New Jersey to South Carolina this year, they checked with their younger son. That's because he was still living with them, at age 39.
"We could not leave him behind, because he could not afford to live on his own," she said.
Her son is a hard worker, she explains, but his job helping to manage a liquor store paid low wages and no benefits. He also has Type 1 diabetes, and his Affordable Care Act insurance was nearly a thousand dollars a month. So he came with them to South Carolina, where his plan now is a lot cheaper — but he hasn't yet landed a new job.
"The young people have really been shafted, big time, with the economy, with the cost of living," Lago said.
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