Overview
- The 2025 Observatorio de Emancipación reports that just 14.5% of people aged 16–34 have left the family home and the estimated age of independence is 30.2 years.
- Modest labor improvements in 2025 did not translate into autonomy: median youth pay rose 1.7% to €14,292 while unemployment fell to 17.2%, yet only one in four employed young people can afford to live independently.
- Housing costs are the core barrier: median rent reached €1,176 per month, equal to 98.7% of a young worker's salary, and the median home price of €223,000 requires a down payment of about €66,900.
- Paying housing pushes many into hardship: the risk of poverty for renters jumps from 25.9% before rent to 43% after rent, nearly half of young rented households are overindebted, and 20% of employed youth face poverty risk.
- The Observatorio blames long‑running housing policy failures that make family support the decisive factor for leaving home, warns this deepens generational inequality, and calls for measures such as stronger rent regulation, a bigger public housing stock, and targeted support for first‑time buyers.