The Average Live-at-Home Adult Costs Parents $2,300 on Average Every Year
A survey by a leading coupon brand has revealed the expenses that fall at parents’ doors if their adult children live at home. The average adult living at home, while aged 21 and over, costs their parents $2,300 on average every year, with food bills the biggest expense for parents to cover.
A leading coupon brand conducted a survey to find out how much adults who live at home cost their parents, following an increase in the to trend to stay in the family home for longer, with many young people reaching well into their adult years before leaving home. 2,582 US citizens took part in the study, with an equal split between male and female respondents, all of whom were US citizens and had a child aged 21 or older living with them in the family home at the time of the survey.
The survey, conducted by www.vouchercloud.net, initially asked respondents to specify the gender of their adult children. Over half (66%) of these respondents revealed their adult children who lived in the family home were male, whilst only 34% of respondents stated they had female children over the age of 21 living at home.
The survey then asked respondents to indicate how old their children were. A majority of respondents (42%) stated that they had children aged ‘between 21-24’ living at home, whilst 37% had children aged ‘between 25-29’ living at home. One in five respondents, the remaining 21%, had children aged 30+ living at home.
When asked how much their stay-at-home children cost them each year on average, the results showed that a majority of parents (41%) accumulate ‘over $2000’ of annual expenses due to their adult child remaining in the family residence. Only 8% of respondents spent less than an additional $1000 per year whilst their child lives at home, in spite of their adult years.
In order to assess the costs to parents and where the expenses fall, respondents were presented with a list of expenditures, and asked to indicate how much they had spent on each one for their child in the last year. The average annual spends are as follows:
- Groceries – $1,250
- Insurance – $100
- Utilities – $440
- Phone Contract – $250
- Entertainment – $260
Respondents were then asked if their live-at-home kids contributed anything towards their annual costs, with 63% of respondents revealing that their children did contribute towards their household expenses. The remaining 37% revealed that they received nothing from their children towards their living expenses.
Matthew Wood of vouchercloud.net commented:
“With the current economic situation and the recent rise in house prices, it is no surprise to see a number of American adults still living at home with their parents. For the parents, however, can be an expensive situation for the average American family, with our survey showing that on average, a majority of 41% stay-at-home kids cost their families over $2000.”
He continued:
“It’s interesting to see the average young adult seems to favor staying at home with mom and dad. It is important to remember that many of these young adults might have accumulated a lot of debt from college and possibly other lifestyle spends, so spending a few years back at home really can be the best option for many!”
