In 2024, young people in the EU left their parents’ house at an average age of 26.2 years, slightly down from 26.3 years in 2023. Since 2002, this average age has fluctuated mildly between a low of 26.1 years in 2019 and a high of 26.8 years in 2006. 

The highest average ages for leaving the parental home, at 30 years or above, were in Croatia (31.3 years), Slovakia (30.9), Greece (30.7), Italy (30.1) and Spain (30.0). In contrast, the lowest average ages were registered in Finland (21.4 years), Denmark (21.7) and Sweden (21.9). 
 

Source dataset: yth_demo_030

At a time when housing costs are under constant public debate, data show that young people are somewhat more affected by housing costs. In 2024, 9.7% of young people (aged 15-29) in the EU lived in households that spent 40% or more of their disposable income on housing (housing cost overburden rate), while the same percentage for the total population was 8.2%. 

In 2024, among EU countries, there were considerable differences in this rate. Greece (30.3%) and Denmark (28.9%) registered the highest housing cost overburden rates, far exceeding those in the Netherlands (15.3%), Germany (14.8%) and Sweden (13.5%). On the other hand, Croatia (2.1%), Cyprus (2.8%) and Slovenia (3.0%) had the lowest housing cost overburden rates.

In 16 EU countries, the housing cost overburden rate was higher among people aged 15-29 than for the population overall. The biggest difference between these 2 groups was 14.3 percentage points (pp) in Denmark, followed by the Netherlands with 8.4 pp.  

Housing cost overburden rate, 2024 (%, by age group). bar chart. Link to full datset below.

Source dataset: ilc_lvho07a

In some of the countries where young people tend to move out sooner, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Finland, the housing cost overburden for young people is higher.

Countries where young people move out of the parental home later, like Cyprus, Croatia and Italy, tend to report lower levels of housing cost overburden. However, in Greece, despite young people leaving home later, the housing cost overburden remains high for them.Â