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Men in the United States are now nearly twice as likely as women to live with their parents—a trend that carries particularly steep consequences for those without college degrees. As housing costs surge nationwide, more young men are moving back home, and once there, many exit the workforce entirely.
A new working paper by Gabrielle Penrose, a graduate fellow at the American Institute for Boys and Men, analyzes six decades of U.S. Census data to draw a direct connection between escalating housing costs and declining male labor force participation. The findings reveal a stark divide: 16% of non-college-educated men now live with their parents, compared to just 8% of their college-educated peers.
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> "There are very real economic forces limiting options for non-college-educated men in the United States," Penrose told *Fortune*. "Some of what we're seeing is simply a rational response to a system that's pricing them out."
The Rent Squeeze
Since 1960, real rents in the United States have risen 150%, while wages for men without college degrees have remained largely stagnant—stifled by automation, globalization, and the collapse of manufacturing. Penrose's research shows that when rents climb, more Americans return to the parental home, with men doing so at nearly twice the rate of women. Among non-college-educated men who move back, labor force participation drops significantly.
Scott Winship, senior fellow and director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), emphasizes that today's non-college-educated men face compounded disadvantages compared to prior generations.
> "Today, there are far fewer non-college men than there were a generation ago, and we should absolutely be concerned," Winship said. "They are a more disadvantaged group now, in part because the share of young adults with a bachelor's degree has risen to roughly 40%, versus much lower rates in the past."
Geography, Supply, and the Housing Trap
Penrose's analysis goes beyond simple correlation. Using geographic constraints—mountains, coastlines, and lakes—as a research instrument, she isolated areas where housing supply is naturally limited, driving up costs independently of local wages or job markets.
> "In some areas, housing costs are higher not because people earn more, but because geography makes construction harder," she explained. "Housing is simply more expensive where it's harder to build."
Her findings quantify the impact: a 10% increase in local rents raises the likelihood that a non-college-educated man moves in with his parents by 1.1 percentage points. That same rent increase correlates with a 0.5 percentage point decline in labor force participation. Initial estimates suggest housing costs could account for roughly one-third of the total employment decline among non-college men.
> "It would be surprising if cities with higher housing costs didn't have more men living at home," Winship noted. "Almost by definition, they're less affordable."
The Enabling Factor: Wealthier Parents
The trend is further enabled by a generational shift in parental resources. Baby Boomer parents, many sitting on significant housing equity, are better positioned than ever to support adult children.
> "Providing for adult children priced out of the housing market is what economists call a 'normal good'—something people spend more on as they get richer," Penrose said. "Parents are earning more, and their sons are earning less."
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Data from the National Association of REALTORS® supports this dynamic. According to Brandi Snowden, NAR's Director of Member and Consumer Survey Research, Baby Boomers continue to represent the largest share of recent homebuyers. The association's 2026 Generation Trends report found that one-quarter of Boomers recently purchased multi-generational homes—often to care for aging relatives or accommodate adult children returning home.
The Gender Gap—and the Role of Children
The share of men aged 25 to 45 living with their parents has nearly doubled since the 1960s, rising from 7% to 12% today. Women's rates have also increased but remain steady at 7%. Penrose's research identifies a key explanatory factor: children.
> "When I isolate women without college degrees who don't have children at home, their patterns begin to mirror men's almost exactly," she said. "The difference is young children."
In other words, caregiving responsibilities disproportionately anchor women to the labor force or to independent households, while men without such obligations face fewer structural pressures to remain employed or live independently.
The Workforce Disconnect
Perhaps the most consequential finding is what happens after men move back home. Men living with their parents are 20 percentage points less likely to participate in the labor force than those living independently. Among non-working men residing with parents, one-quarter have never held a job—a figure up from one in five in 1980.
> "Some pushback I received suggested men might be using the parental home as a launchpad," Penrose said. "That doesn't appear to be the case. These men are largely detached from the labor market."
The trend persists well beyond young adulthood: one in five non-college men in their early 30s live with their parents, and the rate remains elevated into their 40s, with roughly 14% still at home at age 40.
Policy Implications: Zoning as a Labor Market Issue
Penrose argues that zoning restrictions and limits on construction do more than inflate housing costs—they inadvertently suppress workforce participation among those least able to absorb the burden.
> "When we think about housing policy, we often focus on affordability," she said. "But it's also about positioning people to access the labor market. Policies that make housing cheaper in cities like New York should increase participation, particularly for men without college degrees."
Winship concurs, noting that economically dynamic cities—often hubs of opportunity—are frequently the same places where restrictive land-use policies drive up rents.
> "The real villain here is land-use regulation and zoning that constrain housing supply," he said. "Unfortunately, it's often the cities best positioned to promote upward mobility that have these problems. Policymakers need to take a closer look."
The Overlooked Factor: Declining Marriage Rates
A subtler but significant driver underpins these trends: the retreat from marriage. Women now outnumber men in the workforce for the third time in history, and as women's earnings rise, traditional household structures continue to shift.
> "The sleeper issue is the decline in marriage," Winship said. "In the past, many working-class men would have been married, which helped them tolerate higher housing costs without moving back home. But with marriage rates down—especially among young, working-class adults—single men face greater financial strain when housing is expensive."
He suggests this shift has broader implications for identity and motivation.
> "If you're a young man today, you may not see a future where you're responsible for supporting a family. Without that traditional role as primary breadwinner, some men may question their purpose—and that can push toward working less and living at home. Marriage really is the sleeper issue here."
Looking Ahead
Penrose's research underscores a critical intersection: housing policy is labor market policy. When the cost of independence rises beyond reach, the consequences extend far beyond balance sheets—they reshape life trajectories, workforce engagement, and social mobility.
Addressing the crisis will require more than short-term rental assistance. It demands a reevaluation of land-use rules, construction incentives, and the broader economic structures that have left non-college-educated men increasingly stranded between unaffordable housing and unstable employment.
As Winship puts it: "We should be concerned—not just about where men live, but about what happens to their futures when the path to independence closes."