More People Living in Multigenerational Households – NMP Skip to main content

More People Living in Multigenerational Households

Apr 09, 2018
Twenty percent of the U.S. population lives in multigenerational households, according to new data from the Pew Research Center

Twenty percent of the U.S. population lives in multigenerational households, according to new data from the Pew Research Center. This living arrangement involves 64 million people, a record number.
 
This trend has been growing for nearly a decade. Pew reported that 51.5 million people (17 percent of the population) lived in multigenerational households in 2009, while 60.6 million Americans (19 percent of the population) were part of multigenerational homes in 2014, the last year that Pew conducted this data analysis. The lowest percentage ever recorded for this living arrangement as the 12 percent level in 1980.
 
The Pew analysis of U.S. Census data, authored by former Washington Post reporter D'Vera Cohn and Jeffrey Passel, who worked previously with the Urban Institute, said both the number and share of Americans living in multigenerational family households have continued to rise, despite improvements in the U.S. economy since the Great Recession.
 
The report said among Asians living in the U.S., 29 percent lived in multigenerational family households in 2016. Among Hispanics and blacks, the shares were 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Among whites, 16 percent lived with multiple generations of family members.
 
"Growing racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. population helps explain some of the rise in multigenerational living," the report said. "The Asian and Hispanic populations overall are growing more rapidly than the white population, and those groups are more likely than whites to live in multigenerational family households. Another growth factor is that foreign-born Americans are more likely than those born in the U.S. to live with multiple generations of family; Asians and Hispanics are more likely than whites to be immigrants."

 
About the author
Published
Apr 09, 2018
CHLA: More Freddie Mac MBS Buying Could Narrow Mortgage Spreads

Trade group estimates greater Freddie participation could compress spreads another 10 to 12 basis points as Fannie has taken the lead in GSE mortgage-bond buying

Sep 23, 2026
Early Loan-Limit Race Splits Into Three Tiers

Lenders are now offering $845,000, $847,440, or $850,000 before FHFA sets the official 2027 limits

Sep 23, 2026
Better, Garg Clash Over Claimed 46% Shareholder Support

Better disputes its former CEO’s preliminary consent count as the two sides trade accusations and an Oct. 2 target date approaches

Sep 23, 2026
Fannie Changes How Rent From A Former Home Counts

Fannie now prohibits leases for departing residences and permits market-analysis tools instead of Form 1007, creating a key documentation difference from Freddie Mac

MPF Expands Eligibility For Manufactured And Renovation Loans

The Mortgage Partnership Finance Program has expanded MPF Traditional eligibility for affordable loans, manufactured homes, renovations, and lender-funded assistance

Sep 22, 2026