Almost half of American adults say they live with someone not contributing to the mortgage or rent
And romantic partners are the biggest group of freeloaders.
It’s been a tough couple of years for American households, with many continuing to reel from the financial impacts of Covid-19. With the stock market faltering and interest rates on the rise, belts are about to tighten even more.
Making matters worse is that almost half of American adults (48%) say they live with an adult who’s not contributing to the rent, according to the latest findings from the Finder Consumer Confidence Index. In fact, only 38% of respondents said that all household members contribute to the rent or mortgage — stretching budgets with average rents coming in at $1,235 and average mortgage payments at $904 a month.
You might assume that the majority of adults living rent-free are children who haven’t left the nest, and yet the largest group of non–rent paying adults is actually romantic partners at 16%, followed by adult children at 12%. A further 8% said they have a parent living with them rent-free.
Rent-free gender gap
Women (14%) are 4 percentage points more likely than men (10%) to say an adult child lives with them who is not contributing to the rent. And while you wouldn’t expect a kid to pull their weight, women (33%) are 10 percentage points more likely than men (23%) to say they have a kid under the age of 18 who’s not paying rent.
On the flip side, men (20%) are 8 percentage points more likely than women (12%) to say that a partner lives with them rent-free and 4% percentage points (men 10%, women 6%) more likely to have a parent living with them who is not contributing to housing costs.
How who’s living with you rent-free changes as you get older
Almost one in five (18%) of both Boomers and Gen Y say a romantic partner lives with them rent-free. Roughly 16% of Gen X say that an adult child lives with them who isn’t paying rent, while 19% of Gen Z say a parent is staying with them gratis.
Those in the West most likely to have a parent living with them rent-free
Roughly 1 in 10 (10%) of those living in the West say a parent lives with them rent-free, and 42% say that all household members contributed to the rent or mortgage — both the highest figures for any region.
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
