Multigenerational living became more common between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. Based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2020, the number of households where a grandparent, adult child, and grandchild share the same roof has climbed by nearly 1 million since 2010—now making up 6 million households.
These multigenerational households account for about 4.7% of all U.S. households and 7.2% of family households. Census information doesn’t paint the whole picture, though, and data from six years ago already feels naturally dated. Spokeo decided to dig deeper by looking at Census data in conjunction with recent statistics from sources including Pew Research and the National Association of Realtors.
What counts and why the denominator matters
Homes where multiple generations live together under one roof are classified as multigenerational households by the U.S. Census Bureau. Specifically, to meet the criteria, three or more generations must be together. The 4.7% figure covers every household in the country, and the 7.2% figure narrows things down to just family households where the householder lives with at least one person related by birth, marriage, or adoption.
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Pew Research uses a broader definition: two or more adult generations, generally counting adults ages 25 and older, or grandparents living with grandchildren younger than 25. Their data shows 18% of the U.S. population lives in a multigenerational home as of 2021. This measures people, rather than households, so it is not directly comparable with the Census household percentages.
Map the pattern: Where it is concentrated
Families that live together aren’t evenly distributed across the country. When the American Community Survey’s five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau are split into a heat map and broken down by state, it’s easy to see where the trend is most apparent:
The six highest estimated shares were Hawaii at 7.9%, California at 6.0%, Texas at 4.7%, Nevada at 4.6%, New Jersey at 4.5%, and Maryland at 4.5%. New Jersey ranked slightly above Maryland before rounding. These are descriptive rankings; small differences may reflect sampling uncertainty.
Demographic differences may help explain the pattern, but the state estimates do not establish why families live together. Pew’s national research found multigenerational living was more common among Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans than among White Americans. Housing costs and family caregiving needs can also influence living arrangements.
Change matters more than the level
A state’s current share shows how common multigenerational living is; the change over time shows where it has become more prevalent. To measure that change, Spokeo compared Table B11017 in the 2010–2014 and 2020–2024 ACS five-year estimates. For each period, the multigenerational household count was divided by the total household count, then the earlier percentage was subtracted from the later one.
Rhode Island had the largest estimated increase, at 0.43 percentage points, followed by Nevada at 0.41, Washington at 0.34, Massachusetts at 0.32, and California at 0.31. These are changes between two five-year periods, not annual growth rates. The ranking uses point estimates and does not establish that each state’s increase was statistically different from the others.
Affordability and family needs
Cost savings are one reason families buy homes to share across generations. The National Association of Realtors reported that 36% of multigenerational buyers cited cost savings in its 2025 Generational Trends report. Its accompanying analysis put that figure at 15% in 2015. Younger millennials were the most likely age group to cite cost savings in the 2025 report, at 42%; this is a different measure from the share of each generation buying a multigenerational home.
Pew’s 2021 data also showed regional differences: 21% of people in Western states lived in multigenerational households, compared with 14% in the Midwest. Foreign-born Americans were more likely than U.S.-born Americans to live in such households. Those associations do not establish the causes of an individual state’s increase.
From household pattern to homebuying strategy
The 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report found that 17% of surveyed primary-residence buyers purchased a multigenerational home during July 2023 through June 2024. Among Gen X buyers, the figure was 21%, compared with 15% among younger baby boomers. NAR’s definition includes homes shared with adult siblings, adult children, parents, or grandparents, so it is broader than the Census Bureau’s three-generation measure.
Among buyers of multigenerational homes in that survey, 21% cited children or relatives over age 18 moving back into the home as a reason for the purchase. This was one reported reason, rather than necessarily the main reason, and the percentage does not apply to all homebuyers.
What the map shows
The map and chart answer two different questions: where multigenerational households are most common, and where their share increased most between the two ACS periods. Comparing shares accounts for differences in states’ total household counts. Explaining those changes requires additional evidence about affordability, caregiving, and family preferences; the household estimates alone cannot identify the causes.
This story was produced by Spokeo and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.