Will the U.S. witness a rise in multi-generation households?

The American household is starting to look less like a nuclear family and this time, its economics driving the reunion. Once in decline, multigenerational living defined by 2 or more generations under the same roof is staging a comeback. Today, nearly 1 in 6 homebuyers are purchasing multigenerational homes, and in 2024 these households accounted for 17% of all home purchases as per the National Association of Realtors.  

Back in 2000, just 3.7% of US households were multigenerational but since then that figure has since climbed to 4.7%, or roughly 6 million homes. Behind the shift is a simple equation: rising costs meet shared solutions. For 36% of buyers, saving money is the primary objective, and the feeling is mutual to 67% of those in multigenerational households citing financial situations as the same reason.  

Beyond just making homeownerships possible financially, Gen Z stands out with 23% prioritizing time with aging parents. Just 7% cite adult children boomeranging back home versus 11% and 17% among younger and older millennials respectively. 

The affordability crunch is dictating who gets to live together and why. In today’s housing market, it is mandatory for at least two earners in house to make $74,480 each to be able to afford the average U.S. home priced at $357,445. For many households, inorder to make ownership viable that math simply doesn’t work unless incomes are pooled under the same roof.  

Gen X often dubbed the “sandwich generation” can be attributed for this boom, following a 21% increase of buyers in 2025 rising from 12% in 2013. The need for shared living goes beyond the appeal of splitting the bills, with 33% doing it for caregiving needs. In fact, many of Gen X are juggling two different forms of care simultaneously: about 50% of Gen X caregivers are also raising kids, while 56% are supporting either parents, children, or both financially. 

That pressure is compounded by demographics with longer life expectancies and a preference for aging at home, about 75% of Americans who are 50 and above want to stay put as they age through passing time. With all being said the “big family home” isn’t making a comeback per se, it’s being rebuilt as a modern solution.