Twenty-Seven
While young adults across Europe aspire to independence, the path to leaving the parental home is far from uniform. Eurostat's 2025 statistics reveal deep divides in housing situations across the continent, with significant differences in the average age at which young people begin living independently.
In the European Union, the average age for moving out of the family home is 26.3. Luxembourg stands above this average, with young residents leaving home at 26.6 years old. This figure is notably higher than in neighbouring countries, where young people tend to leave home much earlier.
In France the average age is 23.8, while in Germany it is 24.1. Of Luxembourg's neighbours, only Belgium approaches Luxembourg's figures, with young Belgians leaving home at 26.2 years, matching the EU average.
There is a 10-year gap between the average age at which Finns and Croatians move out. In Finland, young people leave home on average at 21.3 years old, closely followed by Denmark at 21.8. Extensive public assistance and a flexible rental market make this early independence possible. By contrast, Croatia has the highest average at 31.5 years. In Slovakia and Greece (30.9), and Italy and Spain (30.2), continuing to live with parents often remains the only option in the face of unemployment and precarious economic conditions.
Luxembourg's average has remained in the mid-to-late twenties in recent years. High housing costs are likely one factor making it harder for young adults to move out. According to property portal Immotop.lu, house prices in Luxembourg have soared by more than 60% over the last decade. With record-high rents and ever-stricter requirements for bank guarantees, even those with stable jobs often find they cannot afford to live independently. Many young professionals choose to stay longer with their parents to save for a future deposit, a rational response to the situation, albeit one that postpones full independence.
26.6 years. Above the EU average, above France, above Germany. House prices up 60% in a decade. The Nordic countries get people out at 21 with public assistance and rental markets that work. The Mediterranean countries keep them until 30 with unemployment and precarity. Luxembourg is somewhere in the middle, closer to Belgium than to its other neighbours, and the reason is the same one it always is: housing.