Half of Aussies aged 18 to 29 are still living at home, according to the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey.
The survey compares Australians’ feelings towards topics like relationships, living situations, employment, and wellbeing across demographics and time.
Here’s what this year’s survey told us,
Background
Every year, University of Melbourne researchers release the HILDA survey.
The same group of 17,000 Australians (and the new additions to their households) is interviewed every year from 2001 about their finances, family and social life, and physical and mental health.
The latest analysis looks at 2024 results.
This edition includes the group’s feelings towards social media for the first time.
Quick facts
👶 Childless couples who earned similar incomes felt the happiest
💑 Relationship quality peaks at age 22 for women and 30 for men, before another peak later in life (70+)
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💼 Half of workers were overeducated, holding qualifications higher than their job requirements
📱 Younger people felt they had significantly higher levels of “problematic” social media use
🏡 Half of 18- to 29-year-olds are living at home, compared to 39% in 2001.
Men were more likely than women to live with parents.
🧠 Mental health has deteriorated since the 2010s, but has slightly improved from pandemic levels
🏚️ Housing stress reached a record high, with more respondents than ever allocating more than 30% of household income to costs including mortgages, rent, insurance, and repairs
Expert
Survey lead researcher Dr Inga Lass told TDA the increase in respondents feeling housing stress could explain why young people were staying at home longer, amid rising rent costs.
Dr Lass also explained how the HILDA team measures relationship quality, asking questions about how their relationships are going, problems they come across, if their relationships meet their expectations, and how much they love their partners.
In future, Dr Lass said survey questions about AI use could be included, like social media in this edition.
