BRUSSELS — Young adults across Europe are reaching independence at very different stages of their lives, with new Eurostat figures showing a substantial gap between countries where people leave the family home in their early twenties and those where they remain with their parents into their thirties.
Across the European Union, the average age for leaving the parental home reached 26.3 years in 2025, up slightly from 26.2 years in 2024.
Eurostat said the average has remained broadly around 26 years since 2022, but the figures vary considerably between individual countries.
Croatia recorded the highest average age at 31.5 years, followed by Greece and Slovakia, both at 30.9 years. Spain and Italy were next, with young people in both countries leaving the parental home at an average age of 30.2 years.
At the other end of the scale, young people in Finland left home at an average age of just 21.4 years, followed by Denmark at 21.8 years. Estonia and Lithuania both recorded an average of 22.7 years.
The differences point to a much wider European housing and economic question: how easily can young adults establish independent households?
Employment is closely linked to the picture
The age at which people leave their parents’ home cannot be viewed in isolation from their economic circumstances.
Eurostat’s 2025 figures show that the employment rate among people aged 20 to 29 was 65.5% across the EU.
Several countries where young people left home before the EU average also recorded employment rates above the European average.
In the Netherlands, for example, 84% of 20–29-year-olds were employed, while the average age of leaving the parental home was 23.4 years.
Germany recorded a youth employment rate of 77%, with young people leaving home at an average age of 24.1.
Denmark had an employment rate of 74.8%, while its young people left home at an average of 21.8 years.
Sweden also exceeded the EU employment average, recording 69.9%, while the average age of leaving home was 23.1 years.
The figures move in a different direction in several countries where young adults remain with their parents for longer.
Italy and Spain show a different pattern
Italy recorded the lowest employment rate in the EU among 20–29-year-olds in 2025, at 47.6%.
That compares with an average leaving-home age of 30.2 years.
Spain recorded a youth employment rate of 58.2%, also below the EU average, while its average age of leaving the parental home was 30.2 years.
Greece recorded employment of 56.2% among 20–29-year-olds, with young people leaving home at an average age of 30.9.
Croatia recorded a youth employment rate of 60.8% and had the highest average age of leaving the parental home in the EU, at 31.5 years.
The figures show a broad relationship between employment and household independence across the countries covered by the Eurostat data. They do not, however, establish that employment levels alone determine when young people leave home.
Housing costs, availability of homes, wages, family structures and cultural expectations can all affect the decision or ability to establish an independent household.
Ireland adds another important housing comparison
Ireland is particularly relevant to the wider European discussion because young adults in the country also face significant challenges when trying to establish independent households.
Eurostat’s comparable 2024 data put Ireland’s average age of leaving the parental home at 26.8 years, slightly above the EU average of 26.2 years for that year.
That places Ireland considerably below countries such as Croatia, Greece, Spain and Italy, but above several northern European countries where young people typically leave home earlier.
The Irish experience also highlights why the age of leaving home should not be treated as a simple measure of housing affordability.
A young person may remain in the parental home because of high rents, difficulty saving for a deposit, insufficient income or a shortage of suitable accommodation. Others may remain for family, education or personal reasons.
M10News has previously examined the financial pressures facing younger people in Ireland, including the growing concerns among under-35s about their ability to own a home.
The issue also connects with our wider coverage of Ireland’s housing affordability pressures, where the relationship between incomes, house prices and access to housing remains an important part of the national debate.
Leaving home earlier does not mean housing is affordable
The European comparison also needs some caution.
A lower average age of leaving the parental home does not automatically mean young people face an easier housing market.
Some young adults may move out because they have secured employment, while others may enter shared accommodation, private renting or other forms of housing that still place considerable pressure on their income.
Eurostat’s broader housing data show that younger people can face substantial housing-cost burdens even after establishing independent households.
This makes employment only one part of the picture.
A secure job can improve a person’s ability to pay rent or save towards a home, but the relationship between earnings and housing costs ultimately determines how much independence is financially realistic.
Northern Europe records some of the earliest departures
The Nordic countries continue to stand out in the Eurostat figures.
Finland had the lowest average age of leaving the parental home at 21.4 years, while Denmark followed at 21.8.
Sweden recorded an average of 23.1 years, while young people in Estonia and Lithuania left at an average age of 22.7.
The Netherlands and Germany also recorded relatively early departures, at 23.4 and 24.1 years respectively.
These countries also recorded employment rates above the EU average among 20–29-year-olds, although the relationship should not be interpreted as proof that employment alone explains the difference.
The countries have different rental markets, welfare systems, housing supply, household structures and social expectations.
The gap across Europe is substantial
The difference between Finland and Croatia illustrates the scale of the divide.
A young person in Finland left the parental home at an average age of 21.4 years, compared with 31.5 years in Croatia — a difference of more than 10 years.
Italy and Spain were also around 30 years, while Greece and Slovakia were just below 31.
Meanwhile, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland were all below 23 years.
That wide variation means that there is no single European model for the transition from living with parents to living independently.
Economic circumstances appear to be an important part of the story, but housing markets and social factors also need to be considered.
What the figures mean for Europe’s housing market
The Eurostat figures provide a useful indicator of how the transition into independent living differs across Europe.
For policymakers, the issue extends beyond simply encouraging young people to move out of the family home.
Young adults need access to employment, but they also need housing that their incomes can realistically support.
Where rents are high relative to wages, young workers may find that employment alone does not provide enough financial room to establish their own household.
For those trying to buy, the combination of house prices, mortgage requirements and the need for a substantial deposit can create another barrier.
This is particularly relevant in countries such as Ireland, where housing affordability remains a major concern for younger households.
A changing path to independence
The latest Eurostat figures show that the transition to independent living remains highly uneven across the EU.
The average European leaves home at 26.3 years, but the national figures range from just over 21 years to more than 31 years.
The employment figures add another dimension. Countries with earlier departures often have higher employment rates among 20–29-year-olds, while several countries with later departures have employment rates below the EU average.
But the data should be read as a comparison rather than a simple cause-and-effect relationship.
Employment, income, housing costs, supply, family circumstances and cultural patterns all influence when young people establish their own homes.
For Ireland, the European comparison provides another indication of why the ability of younger adults to secure independent housing remains an important measure of the country’s wider housing pressures.
As rents and house prices continue to affect household finances across Europe, the age at which young adults leave home offers one way of measuring how difficult — or achievable — independent living has become for the next generation.
M10News will continue to follow housing affordability, rental markets and housing policy across Ireland, the UK and Europe.
