Why Italians live with their parents until 30
Young Italians leave their parents' home at 30.2 on average, four years later than the EU average of 26.3. The number has barely moved in twenty years, and Eurostat's own data set it next to another number: how few young Italians have a job.
The numbers
Eurostat published its latest figures on 15 September 2026, with data for 2025. Across the EU, young people move out at 26.3. In Denmark they leave at 21.8, in Finland at about 21. In Italy and Spain the average is 30.2.
Italy is not the latest in Europe. Croatia is, at 31.5, followed by Greece and Slovakia at 30.9. Italy and Spain are the only large economies in that group.
Twenty years, almost no change
| 2005 | 2015 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy, average age of leaving home | 29.7 | 30.1 | 30.2 |
| EU average | 26.7 | 26.4 | 26.3 |
In two decades the gap with the rest of the EU has grown slightly, from three years to almost four.
Seven in ten under 35
In 2025, 69.1% of Italians aged 18 to 34 lived with their parents. Across the EU the share was 49.8%.
The picture is starker for people who are no longer students. Among Italians aged 25 to 34, half (50.7%) still live in their parents' home. The EU average for the same age group is 30.1%.
Men stay longer
Italian men leave home at 30.9 on average, Italian women at 29.3. Among 25 to 34-year-olds, 56.6% of men and 44.4% of women still live with their parents. Across the EU, men also leave later than women.
The job link
In the same release, Eurostat compared the age of leaving home with the employment rate of people in their twenties. "In countries where young people leave the parental home later, such as Greece, Croatia, Spain and Italy, the employment rate was lower than the EU average," it wrote.
Italy stands out. In 2025 only 47.6% of Italians aged 20 to 29 had a job, the lowest rate among the 27 EU countries. The EU average was 65.5%, and in Germany it was 77%.
There is a twist. Italy's employment rate for people in their twenties has risen by more than seven points in ten years, from 40.3% in 2015. The age of leaving home has not moved. Eurostat describes a correlation and does not claim one causes the other: jobs are part of the story, but the data alone do not explain all of it.
Where "big babies" came from
The stereotype has a date. On 4 October 2007, presenting the budget to parliament, economy minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa described a new tax break of up to 1,000 euros a year for young adults who rent a home. "Let's send the bamboccioni out of the house," he said, using a word that means "big babies". The remark caused a storm of criticism, and the word has stuck to young Italians ever since.
Not just mamma's cooking
The usual explanation abroad is Italian family life and home cooking. The numbers suggest a less romantic one. Where young people find work early, they tend to leave early. Where they don't, they tend to stay, and Italy has fewer young people in work than anywhere else in the EU.
How old were you when you left home? Tell us on Instagram, @theitalydesk.
Eurostat ("When do young people leave the parental home?", 15 September 2026; datasets yth_demo_030, ilc_lvps08 and lfsa_ergaed, read on 3 October 2026); ANSA (Padoa-Schioppa remarks, 4 October 2007); Sky TG24.
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