UNITED KINGDOM — The proportion of young men aged 20 to 35 living with their parents in the United Kingdom rose to 35% in 2025 from 26% in 2000, according to Office for National Statistics data. Among young women in the same age group, 22% were living with their parents in 2025, with the rate rising in recent years.

A study published last year by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that rising housing costs were a major barrier for young adults leaving home.

Nathan, 24, lives with his father in a council house just outside Manchester and works night shifts cleaning and maintaining trains. He has saved £50,000 by living with his father. He said he cooks chillis and stews to take to work, avoids impulse purchases and tries to keep spending on a night out below £20.

"If you are lucky enough to live with a mum, dad or grandparent who doesn't charge you much rent, then you can build up money even on the minimum wage," Nathan said. "My dad managed to buy a house at 21, but that was just how it was back then," he added.

Harry Turnbull, 22, moved back in with his mother in Surrey last summer to finish his studies. "Everything is so, so expensive and prices have just gone up massively," Turnbull said. "I think young people should have more of an option to live independently but, at the moment, that's just not possible," he added.

Separate ONS research found that the rising cost of living was the most important issue facing adults, ranking above the NHS and the economy. More than two thirds of adults surveyed in March 2026 said the cost of living had increased compared with a month earlier, with rising food and petrol prices the most common reasons cited.

Between January and March, almost one in four adults said they would be unable to pay an unexpected but necessary expense of £850, according to ONS survey data. In the same period, 3% of adults said they had run out of food in the past two weeks and could not afford to buy more.