Fewer young adults reach key life, money milestones — Census Bureau notes ‘significant drop'
"I do get a little bit of 'FOMO' seeing my friends around my age getting married, settling into a new home — and I'm just not in a place where that is really realistic for me," said the public relations executive in Jacksonville, Florida.
To be sure, Soehono is not alone. Fewer 25- to 34-year-olds are getting married or having children, or even working full time or moving out of their parents' home, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau working paper.
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Compared to previous generations, the share of young adults reaching those four key benchmarks notched a "significant drop," the Census statisticians found.
Roughly 50 years ago, almost half of 25- to 34-year-olds achieved those milestones, which "mark the transition from adolescence to adulthood," according to the analysis of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey data — today, less than a quarter have done the same.
Millennials and Generation Z in the U.S. are reaching such family and financial benchmarks later in life than older generations did, a separate report by the Pew Research Center also found.
Broadly, those shifts are a response to economic conditions, according to both studies.
Although young adults today are much more likely than their parents to have a four-year college degree, that now comes with additional education debt, primarily as a result of the rising cost of college.
Growing student loan balances can stand in the way of home buying, getting married and even having children, other studies also show.
Soehono, who also has student debt from college, said she is not in a financial position to buy a home or start a family. "Where I am at with my life is focusing on my career because that's really all I have right now," she said.
In addition to hefty student loan bills, the recent runup in inflation helped cause rent and housing prices to jump, worsening an affordability crunch for many just starting out.
The median age of first-time homeowners is now 38 years old, an all-time high, according to a 2024 report by the National Association of Realtors. In the 1980s, the typical first-time buyer was in their late 20s.
Financial pressures — including rising housing costs, high rent burdens and the need for greater economic stability — are "major factors delaying family formation," according to Douglas Boneparth, a certified financial planner and the president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York.
"Living with parents has become more common, and many young adults now view marriage and children as goals to pursue only after securing financial independence," said Boneparth, a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
"The economic bar for starting a family has risen, with affordability concerns shaping the timing and sequencing of life milestones more than in prior generations," he said.
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