A new survey finds that four out of 10 young adults on Long Island live with relatives. That’s 10 percentage points higher than it was in 2004.
The Long Island Index, a project of the Garden City-based Rauch Foundation, conducted a survey of 1,400 Long Islanders between the ages of 18 and 34. It found that 41 percent live with parents or other relatives, and 71 percent are looking to move off the Island in the next five years because of housing costs.
Starting wages for college graduates are often too low to afford rent on Long Island. The survey found that many millennials have moved to southern states where the cost of living is lower.
Directors of the Rauch Foundation say Long Island needs more housing options, including downtown rentals, to keep the millennial population. The survey also shows that more Long Islanders are in favor of lifting restrictions on rentals in private homes.