35% of Florida Millennials Live With Parents

More 18 to 34-year-olds are living at home with their parents than ever in the U.S. and Florida.  According to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau, 34.9% of 18 to 34-year-olds (often referred to as the Millennial generation) live with their parents in the Sunshine State compared with 30.3% of Millennials nationwide.

The Census Bureau compared living arrangements and other characteristics of the young adult population (age 18-34) across four decades using data from the 1980, 1990 and 2000 Censuses and the 2009-2013 American Community Survey.

“Many of the differences between generations examined within these latest data reflect long-term demographic and societal changes,” said Jonathan Vespa, a Census Bureau demographer. “Three decades of decennial census statistics combined with the latest American Community Survey statistics give us a unique view of how — and where — our nation is changing. In this case, we can look at the changing characteristics of young adults over the last few decades.”

The Census data shows that a greater percentage of Millennials are not employed compared with other generations when they were 18 to 34 years of age.  Only 62.8% of Florida Millennials were employed from 2009-2013, compared with 68.7% of 18 to 34-year-old Floridians in 2000, and 72.9% in 1990. 

For those Millennials who are employed, they are making substantially less than the young adults of prior generations when adjusted for inflation.  The median wage for Florida Millennials was $30,524 - only 88% of what 18 to 34-year-old Floridians were making in 2000.

High Paying Jobs For Millennials Lost In Space

While the Census data shows that Florida Millennials are economically worse off than Millennials across the U.S., the economic data over the last 25 years for Millennials on Florida's Space Coast is even bleaker.  A whopping 38.2% of 18 to 34-year-olds now live with their parents in Brevard County which is nearly double the 20.7% rate in 1990.

But perhaps the most striking statistic from the Census data is that there were sixteen thousand more 18 to 34-year-olds employed on the Space Coast in 1990 (78,037) than during 2009-2013 (62,295).  Not only are there less 18 to 34-year-olds employed now than in 1990, but their median pay in Brevard County ($30,204) is 84.7% of the median pay in 1990 ($35,639) when adjusted for inflation.

Employed Population, Age 18 to 34

	1980	1990	2000	2009-2013
Brevard County, FL	50,866	78,037	58,789	62,295
Florida	1,843,937	2,419,325	2,328,038	2,583,610
United States	46,523,019	49,200,658	45,777,603	47,324,965