Using data from the 2000 Census, this study examines the relationship between household
living arrangements and economic resources among Mexican immigrant families with children. I
model separately the relationships between family income and household structure and proportion of
total household income contributed and household structure. The results show that families that
coreside with extended kin and non-kin have higher incomes, all else equal, relative to those that
reside in single-family households. In addition, Mexican immigrant families that reside in extendedhousehold
living arrangements contribute about three quarters of total household income. While
families may gain some economic efficiency through extended household living arrangements, the
results are consistent with expectations that Mexican immigrant families expend scarce resources in
support of the migration and settlement of extended kin. The Mexican delayed assimilation thesis
suggests such support inadvertently diverts resources away from immigrant children and slows
intergenerational progress.