An estimated 5.4 million adults in the U.S. are autistic. Another 7.4 million have an intellectual or developmental disability — and these populations significantly overlap.
The majority live with family caregivers. An estimated 1 in 3 adults with I/DD — roughly 2.5 million people — live with a family caregiver over age 60. And 1 in 31 children born today will be diagnosed with autism — a generation whose lifelong housing needs are not yet planned for.
Powered by the PORCH℠ Framework · A Front Porch Cohousing Initiative
Sources: CDC ADDM Network (2025) · National Health Interview Survey · National Council on Disability · Caldwell & Gladstone / Brandeis Univ. (2025) · MACPAC (2024)
The caregiver and homeownership statistics above are drawn from I/DD-specific datasets. No nationally representative survey currently disaggregates housing tenure, caregiver age, or waitlist status for the autism population as a distinct cohort. This is not a minor footnote — it means that for 5.4 million autistic adults, the housing crisis is effectively invisible in federal data.
The Neuro Housing Study is designed to begin filling that gap — building county-level, population-specific data that policymakers, funders, and families can actually use. This is why this research matters.
For decades, families have fought for and won strong special education systems, therapeutic services, and advocacy networks. But at age 21, those systems end. The community that surrounded a family's child since kindergarten dissolves. What fills the gap — group homes, state waitlists, and aging parents providing care indefinitely — is not a plan. It is a crisis deferred.
An estimated 1 in 3 adults with I/DD — roughly 2.5 million people — live with a family caregiver over age 60. An additional 35% live with caregivers between ages 41 and 59, meaning the next wave of caregiver transitions is already forming. When that caregiver can no longer provide support, the result is too often emergency placement into ill-suited settings, not a home.
Each year, tens of thousands of young adults with autism and I/DD age out of school-based services at 21. An estimated 1.1 million autistic teens will make this transition in the next decade alone. The adult service system — underfunded, waitlist-driven, and not designed for homeownership — is not ready for them.
With 1 in 31 children now diagnosed with autism — up from 1 in 150 in 2000 — a new generation of families is receiving diagnoses they weren't expecting. These families are making housing decisions today that will define their child's life for thirty years. Most have no roadmap for what lifelong neuroinclusive housing looks like.
News organizations across the country are beginning to cover what families have known for years: the housing system for adults with autism and I/DD is not prepared for the generation coming of age now.
"Disability advocates warn of the 'turning 22 cliff'" · April 2026
The housing crisis for adults with autism and I/DD is not one story — it is four converging ones, each with its own urgency and its own timeline. Neuroinclusive Planned Communities built around homeownership and equity are the answer to all four.
Young adults with autism and I/DD age out of school-based services at 21. The community that surrounded them since kindergarten dissolves overnight. Transitional rental housing — like the model offered by Meridian Living — provides the first rung. But the goal is ownership: a home in a Neuroinclusive Planned Community where the transition from school to adult life is a continuation, not a cliff.
An estimated 1 in 3 adults with I/DD — roughly 2.5 million people — live with a family caregiver over age 60, most with no formal housing plan beyond “they’ll stay with siblings” or “we’ll figure it out.” An additional 35% live with caregivers aged 41–59, meaning the next wave of transitions is already forming. A Neuroinclusive Planned Community provides the plan that aging parents need to put in place today — while they still can.
With 1 in 31 children now diagnosed with autism, a new generation of families is receiving diagnoses they weren't expecting. These families are making housing decisions today that will define their child's life for thirty years. The choice to join a lifelong Neuroinclusive Planned Community early is not just a housing decision — it is a decision to ensure that the community your child will need at 25 can be built in the same place they are growing up today.
Adults with autism and I/DD are living longer than ever — and as they age, their support needs change. Research shows that adults with Down syndrome face a significantly elevated risk of early-onset Alzheimer's, and autistic adults experience higher rates of co-occurring conditions that intensify with age. Today's senior living models — like Ann's Choice and Bridges at Warwick in the Philadelphia region — were not designed for this population. We are planning for a neuroinclusive senior living model now: one where residents can transition from Coliving or Cohousing ownership into a care-supported environment, using the equity they've built to fund the next chapter — without a Medicaid spend-down or a family crisis.
Alzheimer's Association · National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG)
"The neighborhood your child will need at twenty-five can be built today — in the same place you are already choosing for kindergarten."
Front Porch Cohousing · Strategy Brief: The Younger Family Pathway (2026)
Each state study applies the same rigorous PESTEL + SWOT + PORCH℠ methodology, producing comparable, citable data that funders, policymakers, and developers can act on.
Full PESTEL + SWOT + PORCH℠ analysis across 8 regions and 67 counties. Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley, Pittsburgh, and Lancaster County regions fully published.
Full PESTEL + SWOT + PORCH℠ analysis for the Pittsburgh MSA — Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.
Full PESTEL + SWOT + PORCH℠ analysis for Lancaster County — PA's fastest-moving housing market, with 235 adults in emergency A/IDD housing need.
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The Neuro Housing Study is building the first national, county-level housing database for adults with autism and I/DD. Register below to access the Pennsylvania report — the first fully published state study — and receive early access to new regional reports as they are released.
Philadelphia / Lehigh Valley Region · First Published State Study
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The Neuro Housing Study is a national housing market research platform produced by Front Porch Cohousing and powered by its PORCH℠ Framework — a licensed methodology for building Neuroinclusive Planned Communities that prioritize homeownership and equity for adults with autism and I/DD.
Each state study applies PESTEL + SWOT analysis to the local housing market, producing data that funders, policymakers, developers, and families can use to understand the gap — and build toward closing it.
Whether you're interested in learning more about the PORCH℠ Framework, exploring regional research, or just want to start a conversation — we'd love to hear from you.