Almost half of young people in their 20s are still getting financial help from their parents to cover expenses like rent. Surprised?
According to an analysis done by The New York Times, about 40 percent of 22 to 24-year-olds receive financial help from their parents for living expenses—about $3,000 a year on average.
The career you want to work in makes a difference in how much money you might get from your parents. Young people working in art and design get the most help, and those working personal service jobs (like home health aides and childcare workers) get the least. Where you live matters too, with urban millennials getting more help than rural ones. This all makes sense—If you're someone who's pursuing an arts career in the city, it's likely that you're not making much money while paying exorbitant amounts in rent. It would be hard to make that situation work without help, or with some extra non-arts-related jobs.
The figures come from interviews conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan for the Transition into Adulthood Supplement from 2007 to 2013.
Although this data shows that parents are willing to financially assist their children even into adulthood, a survey commissioned by MONEY showed that on average, parents think adult children should be financially independent by the time they are 25. The adult children disagreed, however, and said 27 is the magic number. So parents would like kids to stand on their own earlier than the kids expect.
It’s not easy making the transition into adulthood, but luckily for some millennials, their parents are willing to help them get back on their feet in times of trouble.
