Cody Harding, 38, in the Brooklyn apartment he rents with three roommates, on Dec. 23.
Cody Harding, 38, in the Brooklyn apartment he rents with three roommates. Credit: Bing Guan for WSJ

As American 30-somethings increasingly bypass the traditional milestones of adulthood, economists are warning that what seemed like a lag may in fact be a permanent state of arrested development. Americans in their 30s have never looked less like grown-ups. 

Amid steep declines in homeownershipmarriage and birth rates, economists have long been warning that young people are struggling to meet the milestones of adulthood. Although some 30-somethings are consciously choosing a less traditional path, many say these goals are simply out of reach.

“It feels like the instructions for how to live a good life don’t apply anymore,” says 38-year-old Cody Harding, who is single and lives with three roommates in Brooklyn. “And nobody has updated them.” 

Now, as a mix of social and economic factors holds back an entire generation, what researchers once called a lag is starting to look more like a permanent state of arrested development. 

Younger adults are far less likely than Americans over 50 to […]

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