Many adults in Spain remain living with their parents, often relying on family support as housing costs rise Credit: Shutterstock/CandyRetriever
New data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, shows that around two in three people aged 18 to 34 are still living with their parents, highlighting the scale of the country’s housing challenge. The situation is particularly visible among those in their late twenties and early thirties, many of whom remain at home due to rising housing costs and limited purchasing power.
With the average age of leaving home now around 30, Spain remains well above the European Union average of approximately 26, according to Eurostat. Analysts point to a combination of high property prices, increasing rental costs and relatively low wages as the main barriers preventing young adults from achieving independence.
Why are young people unable to leave home in Spain?
The data points to a structural issue rather than a temporary trend. Only around 15 per cent of young people in Spain have managed to live independently, showing how limited access to housing has become. Even among those with stable jobs, many still cannot afford to live alone.
Research from institutions such as the La Caixa Foundation highlights that low salaries and precarious employment are key factors preventing young people from accessing housing. This is not a new issue, but it has intensified over time. Earlier data showed significantly lower figures, meaning the current situation represents a sharp deterioration rather than a stable pattern.
How Spain compares with the rest of Europe
Spain stands out even within the European context. Across the European Union, young people leave home at an average age of around 26 years, according to Eurostat.
In Spain, that age rises to around 30 years, one of the highest in Europe. The proportion of young adults living with their parents is also significantly higher than the European average. While around 48 per cent of young Europeans live at home, the figure in Spain has exceeded 60 per cent in recent years and continues to rise.
This places Spain closer to southern and eastern European countries such as Greece or Croatia, where similar housing pressures exist, and far from northern countries like Denmark or Sweden, where fewer than a quarter of young adults remain in the family home.
What this means for the economy and society
The impact goes far beyond housing. Delays in leaving home affect everything from career mobility to family formation. Young people are postponing major life decisions, including starting families or buying property, which has long-term consequences for economic growth and demographic trends.
There is also a growing divide between those who can rely on family support and those who cannot. For many, living at home is no longer a choice but a necessity. At the same time, the housing market itself is becoming increasingly competitive. In 2025 alone, more than 2 million people searched for housing without success, highlighting the scale of the problem.
A generation under pressure
While headlines often frame the issue in dramatic terms, the data suggests a more complex reality. This is not simply a generation unwilling to leave home, but one facing structural barriers that previous generations did not encounter at the same scale.
With housing affordability still under pressure and wages struggling to keep pace, the trend is unlikely to reverse quickly. For many young adults in Spain, independence is no longer just a milestone. It has become an increasingly difficult goal to reach.
