In Italy the young people they leave their parents’ house on average around 30 yearswell above the European average of 26.2 years: a trend influenced not only by cultural issues but also by economic instability and difficulty in finding affordable housing.
Eurostat data tells us that in 2024 Europeans left their parents’ home on average at the age of 26.2 years. In the Northern Europe However, the exit from the nest occurs much earlier compared to Southern and Eastern Europe. The earliest are i Finns with 21.4 years on averagefollowed by Danes (21.7), Swedes (21.9) and Estonians (22.4). Italy, with an average age of 30.1, is one of the countries where people leave home over 30, together with Croatia (31.4), Slovakia (30.9) and Greece (30.7): almost 10 years of difference with the young people of Northern Europe!
In short, before the age of 30 less than 1 in 3 young Italians leaves his parents’ house. In particular, he remains living in his family of origin:
- 99% of 16-19 year olds
- 94% of 20-24 year olds
- 67% of 25-29 year olds
In the Nordic countries, however, things change radically: if already between the ages of 20 and 24 less than half of young people still live with their parents, between the ages of 25 and 29 the percentages drop drastically: 4.3% in Denmark, 6.4% in Finland and 12.1% in Sweden. An impressive gap compared to Italy.
Even within Italy though there is no uniform trend. According to the Istat Annual Report 2024, many local factors, from the job market to infrastructure, up to the cost of housing, influence when young people leave their parents’ home. In the Noon, almost all regions exceed the national average (except Sicily and Abruzzo). In the Central-Northhowever, the values are slightly lowerwith the minimum in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the only region with decreasing values. There are also gender differences: men tend to stay longer in the family of origin, while among women the permanence is lower, although increasing in recent years.
But what do these data actually mean?
According to the Eurostat definition, the parents’ family unit includes not only young people who live permanently in the same house, but also:
- those who work away from home during the week but return at weekends
- off-site students who continue to benefit from family income
- those who work outside the home for long periods, but contribute significantly to the family income and do not have the residence of another family unit
So, “living with parents” can have different meanings from a continuous stable coexistence.
In any case, the data tells us that leaving the nest late it’s not just a cultural issue or linked to family ties. High costs and little availability of housingdifficulties in the labor market and limiting social policies are equally determining factors. For young people starting life away from the family home, find and maintain accommodation independently it is often one important challengeespecially in large cities. Furthermore, if stable work comes late or is poorly paid, it is more difficult to think of being able to support the expenses of both a family and an independent home.
But staying at home for longer often means finding yourself having to postpone other life stages, such as starting a family, having children and buying a house, generating greater economic and social pressure on families but also privacy problems, psychological distress and reduced quality of life.
