Moving Back in With Parents After Graduation? You're Not Alone

By Corey Buhay | Published on October 21, 2025

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With rising costs of living, many recent graduates are choosing to move in with family members rather than venturing off on their own after college. In fact, according to a 2023 Pew Research study, about a third of young adults aged 18 to 34 currently live at home with their parents.

The decision to move home isn’t often an easy one. Yes, it can help you save on rent while you get on your feet. And yes, living with your parents can be a valuable source of emotional support during a time of transition. But ironing out these kinds of agreements can be trickier than you might think. If you catch yourself asking, “Should I move back in with my parents to save money after college,” be sure to read this first.

Why Is This Happening?

Demographics play a role. People are marrying and having children later, making them less likely to leave the nest. Pew’s research showed that only 29% of young adults are now married, as opposed to 50% in 1993.

Student loan debt could also be also partly responsible for the growth in young adults living at home, reports CBS News: Millennials and Gen-Zers today face higher debt burdens than many previous generations, which makes it more difficult to scrape together rent money after loan payments each month.

Housing is another stumbling block. While homeownership might be a possibility for young adults who work in smaller cities, getting a down payment together may take years for the largest metros. These days, the average down payments on homes in Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles are all well into the six figures.

So if moving back home is increasingly the norm — at least for a short period of time — how do young adults and parents do it?

The Challenges of Moving Home: A Case Study

A few years ago, Nancy Roberts’ 24-year-old son returned to the nest. Matthew, who had grown up on the East Coast with his parents, had graduated from an East Coast college and landed a finance job in New York City. For a while, he rented an apartment with roommates nearby.

Two years later, after visiting a friend in California, Matthew decided he wanted to try a warmer, more laid-back lifestyle. So he moved home to save money while he began actively pursuing a job on the West Coast.

His parents didn’t charge rent. Instead, they told him it was his job to save enough money to make his West Coast move work, Nancy recalls. But rent was only one expense; there was also food, drink, and transportation — all areas Matthew wasn’t necessarily chipping in for.

“My issue was him eating me out of house and home without replacing the food or even telling me,” she says. “He also thought he had access to my car whenever he wanted, and he’d return the car with no gas.”

While this story may not represent every situation, it underscores some of the conversations that should probably happen when young adults move back in with parents.

Should I live with my parents after I graduate?

Moving back into your parents’ house can have some major financial benefits — but it often comes with some mental and emotional hurdles, too. Here are a few of the pros and cons to consider before you move in with a family member.

Pros

• Pay off loans faster. If you have extensive student debt, living with your parents for a year or two could help you save enough to pay down your loans more aggressively and get out of debt faster.
• Insulation from a high cost of living. Living with parents could give you the opportunity to look for or take a job in a city with high living expenses. If the job will help launch your career, the sacrifices could be worth it.
• Access to your parents’ network. If your parents are well-connected, living with them could open up introductions or internships you might not have access to in a different part of town. If you rely on your parents’ support and advice on job applications, being close by can also facilitate this mentorship relationship.

Cons

• House rules. Living under your parent’s roof means living by their rules. You may have to do chores or adhere to a curfew if you move back home.
• Communication difficulties. For many post-grads, moving home is the first time they’ve lived with their parents since high school. You might find that your parents treat you as they used to, without realizing how much you’ve grown up. It usually takes a lot of intentional work to re-establish clear communication guidelines as adults.
• Impacts to social life. Living with your parents can make it tough to host friends or dates without things feeling a little awkward at first.
• Stigma. There’s still some societal stigma around moving back home, which can affect recent grads’ feelings of self-worth or progress. You may need to work through those feelings and reframe the move as a clever hack or productive savings strategy to stay motivated.

Making a Cohabitation Plan

When parents live with their adult children—rather than with a completely dependent teenager—the relationship is very different. Both groups have to get real about money and expectations. Rent, transportation, food shopping, cooking, cleaning, and laundry are all topics that should probably get addressed as “part of the deal.”’ Here are a few more areas where you can support each other’s expectations.

1. Handling Rent and Other Expenses

Sit down with your parents and clearly lay out what expenses you’ll be responsible for and what they’ll help you with. Will you pay your own car insurance and cell phone bill? Will you have access to your parents’ car or will you have to get your own? What about groceries — a source of tension for Nancy and her son in the case study above?

If you don’t have money to contribute, consider finding other ways to chip in. Doing regular yard work or other household chores can make the relationship feel more balanced.

2. Make a move-out plan

Also have a conversation with your parents about your plan for moving out and finding your own place. Start by examining your personal finances and setting some financial goals: How much money will you need to save to feel good about putting down a security deposit on your own apartment, for example? Write out a clear timeline, as well as some contingency plans if you don’t reach those goals as soon as expected. What will you do if you don’t find a full-time gig right away? Will you take on a part-time job or side gig to alleviate some of the burden on your parents at that point?

3. Searching for a Job

The key to moving out of your parents’ place fast is finding a solid first job. Try setting goals around how many hours a day you’ll spend on the job search. Your parents can also help by making introductions to people in their network for informational interviews. An Earnest survey showed personal connections are the best way to find a satisfying job.

Recent graduates might want to devote even more time to job applications. The Earnest survey also showed that people are happiest when their job search is shorter. There are also a number of job-finding programs and boot camps designed for first-time job seekers. These programs can introduce you to promising companies and help you identify your strengths.

4. Building Credit and Good Saving Habits

Parents can help their child build credit by cosigning a loan or making their recent grad an authorized user on a pre-existing credit card. Both options allow a young adult to benefit from their parent’s credit score and to begin establishing a credit history.

Along with building a credit score, it’s also important to start saving for retirement early if you can. A Roth IRA is a great tool for early savers since it’s available without an employer sponsor. Even $25 a month will add up over time, but more importantly, create a savings habit.

5. Dealing With Student Loans

It’s also important to prioritize your student loan repayments¹. Make a repayment plan and a budget to pay your student loans off at a reasonable rate. A solid track record of on-time payment will help you build a good credit score. If your parents cosigned your private student loans, your on-time payments will also help you prove your responsibility and maintain a good relationship with them — essential if you’re going to be living under their roof.

Almost a year after moving in with his parents, Matthew Roberts was offered his dream job in New York City, abandoned his California plans, and headed back to an apartment in Manhattan with a roommate.

“It wasn’t a bad thing to have him be responsible for rent and food and clothing again,” Nancy Roberts says. “We get together for brunch in the city. He’s happy to see me now and I’m happy to see him.”

How to Use Refinancing To Save Money After Graduation

Living with your parents after you graduate is just one of many ways to save money. You can also rejigger other aspects of your monthly budget, take on a side hustle, or refinance your student loans.

Refinancing can help you lower your monthly payment or even score a lower interest rate if you meet certain eligibility requirements². If student loans are the main strain on your finances, refinancing can help put some much-needed breathing room back in your budget. That could help you either avoid moving back home after college, or give you a leg-up on savings so you can move out faster. Interested to see how much you could save? Use our rate-checker tool to see what kind of interest rates you could qualify for on a flexible refinance loan from Earnest.