High Cost of Living Drives Shared Housing Trends in Los Angeles and Riverside

Research tracked housing trends in high-cost urban areas, specifically Los Angeles and Riverside. A 2018 Zillow analysis found that 30 percent of American adults were already living with a roommate or a parent, an increase of eight percentage points since 2000. In Los Angeles, the share of households where adults were sharing living quarters approached 50 percent. Researchers also noted that most single adults aged 18 to 24 who moved out of their parents' homes were living with a roommate.

The findings highlight how high rental markets in major Southern California cities are influencing living arrangements. The trend suggests that shared housing is becoming a dominant coping mechanism against high costs of living in these expensive markets.