Supporting Kids Doesn’t End With Adulthood

Kids can be expensive—even after they age out of begging you to buy them candy at the checkout. No one knows this better than the growing number of Americans who provide financial support to their adult children.

Half of parents with adult kiddos helped at least one of them financially in 2025, up from 45% in 2023, according to a Savings.com survey. Often, it’s more than a one-off Trader Joe’s gift card:

• Less than half of American adults age 18 to 34 say they are entirely financially independent from their parents, according to a 2024 Pew report.
• And it’s not just college-aged adults: More than a third of those age 30 to 34 still aren’t financially independent from mom and dad.

The average yearly support amounts to $7,000 per family, according to a recent AARP survey.

It wasn’t always like this. While today’s young women are more likely to be financially self-sufficient than in the past, young men have become more reliant on their parents. In 2021, 36% of 25-year-old men depended on their parents for cash flow, compared with 23% in 1980. Researchers say the trend is driven by a tough job market and the rising cost of living, including soaring rents and college tuition saddling people with loans.

Full house

On top of Venmo transfers from mom, adulthood increasingly involves being roomies with the ’rents. Almost half of Americans age 18 to 29 live with their parents, according to a Federal Reserve report published last year, up from 37% in 2019. The rise of multigenerational households is partly why many boomers are choosing not to downsize their homes as they age.

But delaying empty-nesthood can actually be a boon, and not just because it gives parents someone to watch Cheers reruns with. Almost two-thirds of young adults who live with their folks contribute to household expenses, like picking up groceries and paying rent.

Many parents can afford to help. As of 2022, the median baby boomer-headed household is sitting on $432k in wealth—about 30% more than their parents’ generation.—SK

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