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In 1975, nearly half of U.S. adults ages 25 to 34 had moved out of their parental home, got a job, tied the knot and had kids — the most common path to adulthood. Five decades later, less than a quarter of Americans in this age group had experienced the same traditional milestones.

A newly released U.S. Census Bureau explores the societal and economic shifts of younger adults who reached those four primary markers of adulthood.

“Findings suggest that young adults today prioritize economic security over starting a family, reflecting the rising burden of housing, food, gas and other costs,” the paper states.

Over the decades, the most common milestones shifted from importance of a family life to economic priorities. This resulted in adults of that age group being in the labor force and living independently, but not being married or having kids, which describes 28% of that population in 2024.

In the 1970s, reaching only the economic milestones was the fourth most common experience for young people, roughly 6% of that demographic.

As a kid raised in the '70s, with a steady job by 1978, and married with kids in the '80s, I constantly struggled financially. I faced a similar economic burden that young adults struggle with today, but I still hit those traditional milestones. Not as a plan. It was more happenstance.

Before I knew it, those milestones were behind me.

By the time I was 34, I already had been living away from my parents’ home for 16 years, I had worked for 18 years, and I was on my second marriage raising two kids over 10. Not once did I ever think I was living the American Dream. Or a pipe dream. I was just -- surviving.

The Census Bureau report added “education” to the list of milestones to adulthood, reflecting that achieving economic markers became more common in recent years. In my past, educational milestones meant nothing to me. Making a buck meant everything.

After I read this new study-in-progress, I asked my social media readers if they had reached the traditional adult milestones referenced by decades of data.

“This Gen X-er followed ‘the most common path to adulthood’ because I believed the myth that it was the only way,” wrote Carrie Sovola, of Highland, Indiana. “I worked hard to discover myself and find my way out of unhappiness. Now I am living my best life in my 50s.”

I felt the same way in my 50s, as I do now in my 60s.

Another reader who’s older commented, “I got my first apartment in 1974; didn't get married until 1985; never had children; first husband died in 1997, I remarried in 2014. Retired and saw the world between my marriages. It may not be the life everyone wants, but it was (and still is) working for me.”

One reader who’s an older millennial, also called an Xennial (born between 1977 and 1983), said she moved out of her parents’ home at 18, got married at 24, and bought their first and only home four months after the wedding.

“I think I'm one of the lucky ones. I know younger adults don't have it as easy,” she said.

She’s correct. I don’t know how young adults and young families make ends meet these days. I wonder this every time I go grocery shopping and my bill is double or triple what it once was.

Adjusted for inflation, $1 in 1975 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $8.69 today. That dollar had an average inflation rate of 4.42% per year between 1975 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 769%.

The Census paper examined key shift factors including higher education levels, more women in the workplace, higher living costs and more varied family structures, which may explain why fewer young adults are meeting these traditional milestone benchmarks.

Most people surveyed in recent years said moving out of their parental home and having a full-time job were key to becoming an adult. As I often tell young people who don’t yet have children, if they want to really begin “adulting,” raising kids is the most challenging milestone by far.

But don't feel you need to do it by 34. I was 22 and that milestone could have waited a few more years until I grew up.