Boomers Housing Their Kids Longer

Article Courtesy betterdwelling.com.

More adults are living with their parents, and it may be due to high home prices. The Royal LePage 2021 Boomer Survey (it’s a thing) found one in five Boomers have kids at home currently. Breaking that number down, over half of those are adults 25 and older. A significant number of these Boomers said they don’t expect these kids to ever leave home.

One In Five Canadian Boomers Have Children Living At Home

A surprising amount of Boomers have children living at home, including those under 18. At the national level, the survey shows 20% of Boomers have children living with them. It was a little higher in BC (21%) and Ontario (23%). Quebec (17%) managed to come in much lower, and also happens to be more affordable. Affordability likely plays a role here, since the rate is higher in expensive cities.

Canadian Boomers With Children Living At Home

The rate of Canadian Boomers with children living at home.

Looking at major cities in these markets may confirm those assumptions. The rate of Boomers with children living at home is much higher in Vancouver (28%) and Toronto (26%). More affordable Montreal (20%) was in line with the national average. 

Now that’s the total of children, including minors. It’s not all that interesting that minors live with guardians. What is interesting is how many of those children were adults. Not college-aged ones either, but prime workforce-aged adults.

More Than Half Of Children Living With Boomers Are Adults

More than half of the children living with Boomers are adults, 25 years or older. At the national level, 12% of Boomers identified having adult children 25 years or older at home. Similar rates were found in BC (12%), and it was a little higher in Ontario (13%). More affordable Quebec (11%) came in lower, but not by much.

Canadian Boomers With Adult Children Living At Home

The rate of Canadian Boomers with adult children living at home. The demographic is broken down into college-aged (18 to 24 years old), as well as working aged (25 and older).

In Canada’s most expensive cities, the rate of Boomers with adult children jumps. Nearly a fifth of Boomers said they had adult children at home in Vancouver (20%). The rate was a little lower in Toronto (16%), but still represented more than half of kids living with Boomers. Montreal (13%) is the only relatively affordable city, and was just above the national rate.

One In Five Boomers With Kids At Home Don’t See Them Moving Out

Over a fifth of Boomers with children at home don’t expect them to move out… ever. Across Canada, 21% of Boomers with children living at home don’t see them ever moving. The rate is much lower in BC (12%) and Quebec (17%). Ontario (28%) is much higher, coming in a third above the national rate.

Canadian Boomers Don’t Expect Their Children To Leave

The percent of Canadian Boomers that live with children, and don’t see them ever leaving home.

The most expensive cities once again showed a higher rate, but just slightly higher. Toronto (29%) is just above the provincial average, but keep in mind Ontario is unusually high as a whole. Montreal (19%) is above the Quebec average, but lower than the national rate. For some reason, Vancouver didn’t have a data point for this one

There are a lot of reasons adult children live with their parents, but it’s naive to think that cost isn’t one of them. Rates rise in more expensive provinces and are even higher in big cities. Though we won’t get confirmation of this trend in Canada until the next Census.