Our older son was financially independent as soon as he graduated from college. The younger son lived with us and had internships and/or worked in NYC. We did not charge him rent. He’s financially independent now except that he shares Netflix, phone and Amazon prime. He could afford to cover them, but we’ve never bothered to throw him off.
It actually provides subjects for conversations as we can see what he’s been watching or buying!
Umm, yes. It takes a while for kids to become financially independent, if making over $20k is the measure. In fact, a lot of people over age 22 are have poverty level incomes. Considering a lot of kids are 18, even 19 that last year in high school, that kids going to college directly from high school rarely work full time, I’m surprised the percent dependent isn’t a lot higher.
I also think that the income measurement as independence from parents is faulty. I worked in an area where there were many many folks OVER age 22 who are not independent by your definition because of low income but they are indeed self sufficient. Some help out their parents and even have dependents.
I don’t expect most in that category to be making a lot of money.
I think this is cultural. My D (a junior) has already informed me (she asked previously) after signing her full time offer that she will live at home after graduating. This is very common in our culture and we don’t charge our kids rent/utilities. She’ll stay on my cell phone plan and car insurance and build wealth until she’s ready to move out. I’ll still pay for her to go on family vacations and family activities. I will take her off of my medical insurance, however, but only because she will get better insurance for free from her company. Financial independence at age 18-22 is just not a goal in our culture.
Like others, our s’s are still on our phone plan. We don’t ask them to pay us back (though they would). But… when they travel overseas and make a profit by submitting for reimbursement for the extra international service fee (grrr, AT&T for charging for this), well… I give them grief about the profit they make 
They’d pay us back, but its more fun to yank their chains about it.
Be thankful if your kids can work! DS, 27, will be on SSI for the rest of his life. We’re thankful for it, since it means he can be financially “independent,” but it’s still sad.
Our other two kids get out of college this academic year (one in December, the other in May). We’ve told them they can stay at home three months after graduating before they need to pay us rent.
If DH and I die in a simultaneous accident, my kids would be grief stricken, I’m sure. But the true wall of dismay would come in the next few months when their cell phones would get turned off. All of them on our family plan which we pay
Our D has never had a full-time job and her chronic health issues prevent her from having any steady employment. She doesn’t qualify for SSI. Fortunately she is a disabled dependent and will remain on our family insurance plan as long as H or I am alive. We have supported her financially 100%.
We feel fortunate that we are able to support her and also have her on our family plan, which provides excellent coverage nationally.
Well… duh. When you live in a country where college is expected to be a familial responsibility rather than a societal one - like the rest of the industrialized world - of course you’re going to have a large number of young adults dependent on their parents. It’s, quite literally, done by design.
I was one of those 24%ers and you know what? It sucked. I will be in student debt for at least another decade while I’m trying to save for my own child’s college. Retirement? Ha.
You want to change this? Let’s join the rest of the western world and recognize that a well-educated populace who doesn’t have to go tens of thousands in debt just to become well-educated is good for the rest of the country.
If by western world, you mean Europe, 18-22 year olds aren’t financially independent there either. Most of them will be living with family into their mid-twenties.
https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2018/46/more-dutch-and-european-young-adults-living-at-home