A grandmother moved from Idaho to Delaware to help with childcare. She is far from alone.

Mary Jo Galusha, a 67-year-old school teacher from Idaho, moved to Delaware to care for her grandchild. Her move places her within a wider shift in family life, as ageing Americans move nearer to adult children and grandchildren while younger parents face high housing and childcare bills.

For Galusha’s daughter, Stacia Bourne, the financial pressure was immediate. The daycare bill for Bourne’s first child nearly matched her family’s mortgage, and she and her husband hesitated over having a second child.

The number of Americans living in multi-generational households has quadrupled over the past five decades. Such households can be found from Newark, California, to Topeka, Kansas.

The change reverses a long-established housing ideal. During the Post-War Era spanning 1950s–1980s, the detached single-family home was designed around the nuclear family. The Great Recession from 2008–2010 disrupted family finances and housing stability.

COVID-19 became a major catalyst during 2020–2022, when families brought loved ones under one roof to share childcare and care for ageing relatives. The pattern has continued through the Current Housing Crisis period listed as 2023–Present, with record-high home prices and elevated interest rates creating a breaking point for first-time homebuyers.

Older households face their own financial calculation. Assisted living facilities have become increasingly expensive, leading families to bring elder care into their primary residences. The ageing Baby Boomer generation is referred to as the 'Silver Tsunami'.

Migration among younger adults adds another dimension to the housing shift. Nearly 1 in 4 Gen Z adults moved to another state or the District of Columbia in 2024. The share was 23.9%, compared with 14.0% of millennials, 7.2% of Gen Xers and 5.2% of baby boomers. Of Gen Zers who moved, 38.1% were in college in 2024.

South Carolina recorded a net gain of 22,843 Gen Z adults in 2024. California recorded a net loss of 58,109 Gen Z adults that year, including an estimated 186,827 Gen Zers who moved out of the state.

The available figures do not set out how many older Americans have moved specifically to live near grandchildren, how far they travel, or whether the pace of relocation is rising or settling. They also leave open how these arrangements will affect local housing markets and families over time.