85% of college grads moving back home

By Kara Powell

When I graduated from college, I got a job in San Diego (where I was from) and moved back home. I would guess that only 30-40% of my friends moved back home after college.

Times are changing.

According to a recent survey, 85% of college graduates are moving back home with their parent(s). That’s a lot. (Note the technical research language I used in my last sentence.)

There are all sorts of questions that emerge for those of us who serve teenagers and emerging adults.

-How can we help kids and parents deal with the complexities of moving back home, ranging from re-establishing communication patterns to knowing how to handle “curfew” (or whatever that looks like)?

-How can we help these folks who feel transient take root in our communities?

-How can this be not just a holding pattern for these young adults but a time of deep formation? (this question is certainly related to the question right above it)

I think this dynamic brings new ministry and community opportunities for us. Now we just have to figure out what those are, and determine how to move forward toward them.

Posted May 12 2011 by

Kara Powell

Kara Powell, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. As a youth ministry veteran of over 20 years, she serves as an Advisor to Youth Specialties and is the author or co-author of a number of books including Sticky Faith, Essential Leadership, Deep Justice Journeys, Deep Justice in a Broken World, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, and the Good Sex Youth Ministry Curriculum.

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