Poor – and miserable

the high unhappiness levels. Being divorced or being a renter rather than a property owner may drag down people’s levels of well-being, it noted.

Only 57 per cent of people living on their own in the age group owned their homes, compared with 87 per cent of couples of the same age who did not have children.

Adults who lived alone had to spend a higher proportion of their income on rent or mortgage, gas and electricity, water and council tax, the ONS found. They also spent more on food and soft drinks and on furnishing than couples.

The report said: ‘Around half (51 per cent) of those who live alone say they always or mostly have money left over at the end of the week or month, compared with nearly twothirds (64 per cent) of those who live with their partner. The financial costs of living independently may explain why the number of younger people living alone is falling.’

More than a quarter of people in their 20s and early 30s (3.4million) now live with their parents, up a million on 20 years ago.

Wellbeing surveys found that 6.8 out of 10 single adults said they were happy, against 7.7 out of 10 people who were part of a couple who did not have children.

In anxiety surveys, 2.9 out of 10 of those in couples said they felt anxious, against 3.4 out of 10 people who lived alone.