Using census microdata, the article describes living arrangements among unmarried elderly women in Chile and Mexico around 1990, two rather different Latin American countries. In both countries, most unmarried elderly women lived with kin. Even those without children still usually lived with relatives, often nephews, nieces, or siblings. Elderly women who never married nor had any children had a higher likelihood of co-residence than counterparts who never married but did have children or who married but did not have children. Residence with relatives may well decline notably in Chile and Mexico in the next 25 to 50 years among unmarried elderly people. That certainly has been the case in more developed countries. The question could become how to retain valuable kin ties while respecting increased autonomy.
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