In Whose Home? Multigenerational Families in the United States, 1998–2000

Abstract

This article examines multigenerational living arrangements of white, black, and Latino individuals using data from the Current Population Surveys. We describe people in multigenerational households as “hosts” or “guests.” In terms of resources, guests have no home of their own, whereas hosts maintain an important source of independence. By age, the proportion of adults living as guests peaks in the late twenties, then declines until the late seventies. In contrast, hosting rates peak in the fifties. Men have higher guest rates and women have higher host rates at almost all ages. While blacks and Latinos are more likely than whites to live in multigenerational households, those with higher incomes are less likely to live in multigenerational households and if they are living in multigenerational households are less likely to be guests, regardless of race-ethnicity. We interpret this as consistent with the assumption that residential independence is generally preferred.