What do Americans spend on housing?

Another respondent is 45 years old and is pursuing a master’s program in Seoul, while her husband is an immigrant living in the United States. “I was too afraid to go back there because of ICE and the immigration stuff, it’s too risky, and none of us wanted to be responsible for our disappearance.”

Resident who lives with extended family

Across the United States, just under 5% of owner-occupied households span three or more generations. The number may seem modest, but according to… Data Demand for multi-generational homes was strong, Realtor.com reported in May: Listings that included terms like “granny flat” or “guest house” received more views and were priced higher (an average of 22 percent more per square foot) than standard homes.

Multigenerational households were well represented in the WIRED data set, as participants wanted to save money or help elderly parents. A 45-year-old man from Oakley, California, “is living with relatives to avoid homelessness.” “Any place I can afford at this point is going to be a downgrade compared to my experience staying with my parents,” noted a 23-year-old from Decatur, Georgia.

A 65-year-old retiree from Columbia, Missouri, volunteered that her parents, now 91, had moved in during the Covid crisis. Despite the lack of privacy, she wrote, “It was good! We don’t have any extra space, so we can’t pack things, but we have everything we need.” It’s not just seniors moving in. A 38-year-old woman in Huntsville, Alabama, is preparing to sell her home to move back in with her parents.

With home sales trends remaining bleak, it’s no wonder multigenerational living is popular. According to an April 2026 report from the National Association of Realtors, only about one in five buyers were first-time buyers — the lowest level on record.

Resident who loves his anomalous situation

Some participants came up with innovative solutions to the housing crisis. A 47-year-old man did just that by building an 8-by-24-foot residence out of cold-formed steel on a giant lot that was demolished in the Victorian era. “What would have been a heating and cooling space is now a large, stunning courtyard,” she wrote. A 68-year-old man in Branchport, New York, lives in a one-bedroom log house with several animals: “I like living in the country, having animals and big gardens.”

Another participant—a 55-year-old woman in Santa Cruz, California—described the house she bought in 1998 as a “dilapidated dump.” But, she wrote, “We spent our lives upgrading the interior and exterior of our home, turning the ugliest house on the block into the most beautiful,” a place surrounded by redwood trees and a mile from the Pacific Ocean.

Then there is the Marine Horde. A 77-year-old man who loves living off the grid spent most of last year on a sailboat. In Sausalito, California, an 84-year-old woman who “fell in love with living on a houseboat” noted that although life on a boat is not easy for seniors, she hopes to stay as long as possible. “I have everything I need and want here,” she wrote.