Leaving the nest. A description of young people moving from home 2014-2024
The average age for leaving home has remained relatively stable
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-02-19 8.00
In 2024, women leaving the parental home were on average just under 22 years old, almost the same as a decade earlier. Men were about eight months older than women, which is less than in previous years.
A new report from Statistics Sweden examines young people’s transitions out of the parental home between 2014 and 2024, focusing on age at departure, geographical mobility patterns, and employment status.
While the average age for nest-leaving has remained relatively stable in the total population, there has been other trends in different sub-populations. Young people from low-income families tend to leave their parental home later than those from high-income families, and this difference has grown over the last years. In 2014, women from households in the lowest income quartile, or the 25 percent with the lowest income per person, were on average three months older at departure than women from the highest quartile. By 2024, the gap had increased to one year, with similar developments among men. These widening differences may to various extent reflect housing market pressures or growing income inequality, suggesting that parental resources have become increasingly important for young adults' opportunities to leave home.
Family structure also plays a role. Young people with separated parents tend to leave home earlier than those living with both parents, especially those living with a biological parent and a stepparent. Those living only with their father also tend to leave slightly earlier than those living only with their mother. Practical and emotional factors within the family likely influence the timing of the move.
A little more than half of those who moved out between 2014 and 2024 left their home municipality. Out migration was highest in commuting municipalities near major cities, with Lomma (Malmö), Danderyd, and Ekerö (Stockholm) showing the largest shares leaving. Umeå, a medium sized town with a university, had the highest share staying, followed by the cities Malmö and Gothenburg for women, and small towns Kiruna and Gällivare, both with mining industry, for men. About two thirds remained in the same county, with Västerbotten showing the lowest out migration and Gotland the highest.
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