Home economics: Metropolitan labor and housing markets and domestic arrangements in young adulthood

I examine the relationship of labor and housing market conditions to marriage, living alone, living with a partner, living with roommates, or living with parents among persons aged 18-30. Although the residential choices available to contemporary young adults undermine the uniqueness of marriage, I find that marriage retains a high material standard. I also find that the material foundations of nonmarital arrangements differ. Housing costs are strongly associated with domestic arrangements: in areas with higher housing costs, relatively expensive arrangements are less common. These patterns appear in broad brush for blacks and whites and males and females; however, I also observe important racial differences. My results suggest that the interaction of structural context with consumption aspirations is an important influence on domestic life in the transition to adulthood.