Millennials in 2021 were twice as likely to live with their parents than baby boomers were when they were young adults, according to a new report — though the high cost of housing isn’t entirely to blame.

The report from Statistics Canada out today analyzed data from three census cycles to compare changing housing dynamics across three generations: millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers.

StatsCan found that 16.3 per cent of millennials aged 25 to 39 were living with a parent as of 2021, whereas 8.2 per cent of baby boomers were doing the same at those ages in 1991. 

Millennials also had the lowest home ownership rate at those ages, compared to previous generations. Just under half of them — 49.9 per cent — owned their home as of 2021, while 56.2 per cent of Gen Xers did in 2006 and 55.9 per cent of baby boomers in 1991.

The trend was even more pronounced in bigger cities — particularly in Toronto and Vancouver, which have the highest housing costs in the country. In Toronto, 26.1 per cent of millennials in 2021 were living with a parent, as were 19.3 per cent of millennials in Vancouver.

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With condo prices falling further than they have in years, many renters are considering buying for the first time. But as CBC’s Tyler Cheese explains, experts warn if the current inventory goes fast, the city could face another housing shortage.

The share of millennials living with a spouse, partner or child was also smaller than past generations. While about three in four baby boomers had that kind of living arrangement in 1991, only 62.8 per cent of millennials did in 2021.

The cost of housing in Canada, which has skyrocketed relative to wages over time, has likely had an impact. Lower-end homes have increased by more than 200 per cent since 2024, young dual-earner household incomes grew by just 76 per cent in that same period, according to a recent CBC News analysis.

And though house prices have begun to dip, including in some big cities, it hasn’t so far been enough to let first-time buyers into the market: TD Economics expects home prices to slide 0.3 per cent across Canada this year.

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‘Much more normal salaried people could buy houses 30 years ago…those days are gone,’ broker Ron Butler said. Butler spoke as a witness for the Standing Committee on Finance, which looks into matters relating to federal finances.

But Statistics Canada notes that there’s more to the change in patterns than affordability alone.

“Later family formation and longer educational careers, partly associated with life-stretching, have likely played into this phenomenon, as have distinctive cultural patterns across different demographic groups,” the agency noted in its report.

The report notes that fewer millennials are parents than past generations. But among those who are married with kids, the rate of home ownership was “nearly identical” to baby boomers in 1991.

Meanwhile, 39.4 per cent of racialized millennials born in Canada were living with their parents, while only 14 per cent of Canadian-born, non-racialized and non-Indigenous millennials did the same, hinting that cultural differences could be a factor, according to the report.