Gender, Marital Status, and Living Arrangements
Gender and Age
Similar to the non-Hispanic white older adults and the other groups, 2023 US Census data include more women than men over 65 for Hispanic/Latino older adults: women – 5,916,000; men – 5,267,000.
Table below illustrates the distribution of population for gender, age and Hispanic origin by percentage of the age groups in the total groups. There is an increased older population of men and women within the Cuban population compared to the other elder groups. There are also more Cuban women in the 55–64 age group compared to Cuban men. There are smaller proportions of older Mexican American men and women in all 55-64 age categories.
Marital Status
In Older Americans 2024: Key Indicators of Well-Being the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics chose marital status as one of the 40 indicators of the lives of older adults and their families. Marital status has been found to affect a person’s emotional and economic well-being because of living arrangements and caregiver availability. In 2020, 51 percent of older Hispanic/Latino population were married, 20 percent were widowed, and 8 percent had never been married (AoA).
Data from the Hispanic Epidemiological Studies of the elderly (H-EPESE), a large multistage probability sample of Mexican Americans 65 and older residing in the Southwestern states of Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona (Markides, Rudkin, Angel, & Espino, 1997) show that more married native born Mexican American elders live with a spouse alone than do married foreign born elders. Foreign born are more likely to live with others, with someone else in the household as the head. In this data there were more unmarried, native born Mexican American women living alone as the head the household than foreign born Mexican American women.
Living Arrangements
The Census population survey shows that 16% of Hispanic/Latino men live with family members compared to 28% of Hispanic/Latino women. The male population represented the largest number of any race living with family members whereas the female population represented the second largest number (Black women had thirty-one percent living with family members). In 2021, 26% of Hispanics lived in a multigenerational household, similar to Asian (24%) and Black (26%), and different than Whites (13%).
The percentage of older Hispanic men (65+) living alone in 2022 was lower at 14.7% as compared to Hispanic women at 22.4%.
Latest research explored differences in living arrangements and cognitive impairment among Mexican Americans who were foreign born or US born with age 75 or older. The study findings observed older adult US born participants living with other people (2+) were linked to higher odds (about 62%) of developing cognitive impairment overtime. Among foreign-born participants, living arrangements showed no significant association with cognitive impairment. (Agrawal & Al Snih, 2026. Living Arrangements and Cognitive Impairment Among Mexican American Older Adults: Nativity Differences.)
Historically preferences for living with others has been well documented in the literature for all Hispanic/Latino ethnic groups (Aranda & Miranda, 1997; Sotomayor & Applewhite, 1988; Sanchez-Ayendez, 1988; Cubillos, 1987; Delgado,1982). in the literature is whether more Hispanic/Latino older adults live with family as a result of health or economic necessity or because of culturally bound expectations governed by norms of mutual reciprocity among families (Gratton, 1987) (Angel & Tienda, 1987). Another study, emphasized the inability for older adults among the Mexican subgroup to live alone due to economic constraints or out of economic necessity (Angel et al., 2000). In the Hispanic-(H-HEPESE) study, a sample of 3,046 Mexican American older adults over 65 were assessed on their preferences for living arrangements and comparisons were made between foreign born older adults and native born (Angel & Angel, McClellan & Markides, 1996). There were many differences between the native and foreign-born groups in terms of reasons for living with family. More foreign-born older adults lived with their adult children because these older adults were providing their adult children with financial or child-care assistance. However, the primary reason given by the Mexican American older adults for living with their children was: “Because my child wants me to live with him/her” and/or “it is best for everyone if parents live with their children.” Foreign born Mexican American older adults had less education, less personal income, and had increased mobility and instrumental activity of daily living problems compared to native born Mexican American older adults (Angel, Angel, McClellan, & Markides, 1996). Overall, Hispanics households were more likely to be doubled up as compared to White households.