At the end of 2014, 43% of young people aged 18 to 24 had their own dwelling, but only 17% lived there exclusively and paid for it themselves. Access to residential autonomy is a continuous process with intermediate situations such as a partial departure from home for 1 in 5 young people or a departure funded by parents. The route young people take differs greatly according to their status: students often leave home to pursue selective studies, but they are not yet independent from their parents; young people who have left full-time educational generally wait until their situation is sufficiently stable before leaving the parental home to live independently.

When they have their own accommodation, young people are mainly tenants and live in less comfortable conditions than in the parental home. Even when young people who have a job have a better standard of living, with an average monthly wage of 1,360 euros, more than half continue to live with their parents while waiting to be fully autonomous. However, young people who are unemployed or inactive are for the most part unable to have this residential, professional and financial autonomy: 43% experience financial difficulties and three-quarters remain in the parental home with less than 300 euros of individual resources per month. Young people who are studying may have few resources, but they have the advantage of strong parental support. They have a higher level of satisfaction with their lives than other young people, and this can be seen as a transitional period of investment in the future.