By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – A new study released by apartment-finding service ABODO shows that 37 percent of all of Illinoisans age 18-34 live at home with their parents, higher than the national average.

ABODO Senior Communications Manager Sam Radbil said the likely causes are a combination of cost of living and high unemployment, which is 11.2 percent for millennials in the Chicago area and similar statewide, high taxes and, in some cases, student loans.

“That number is a lot larger than a number of cities listed in the report,” he said.

Renters often don’t make the connection between high property taxes and the cost of rent, Radbil said, especially among millennials with little experience outside of the parent’s house.

“Property taxes play a huge role in not only homeownership but rentals,” he said.

Radbil said that high property taxes could cause renters to, effectively, be paying an extra month in rent.

ABODO used the most recent U.S. Census data to show that 54 percent of millennials living with their parents are male and likely have some college education. Radbil thinks the high cost of education could be a factor.

“You might have a $1,000 a month student loan payment. That, combined with a $1,000 per month rent payment would eat up the majority, if not all, of your income,” he said.

2014 Census data showed that the most common living arrangement for people aged 18-34 was with their parents. The national average is 34 percent. In the Chicago area, the average income for millennials is just over $2,000 per month. The average rent would take up about half of that. For men aged 18-34, living with parents has been the most common arrangement since 2009.

Report: https://www.abodo.com/blog/millennials-living-at-home/