Uneven emergence of corn (Zea mays L.) may occur because of variable moisture in the seed zone, uneven depth of planting, soil compaction, seed zone temperature differences, or plant residue immediately above seed placement. We conducted a study over 5 yr to determine the effect of late-emerging plants on grain yield and plant characteristics of corn. Treatments included three uniform stands established by planting early May (E), 7 d later (+ 7), and 14 d later (+ 14), and two differentially emerging stands established by planting every other hill on the same calendar date as the E uniform stands followed by interplanting the alternate hills 7 (E + 7) and 14 (E + 14) d later. Four stand densities of 16, 24, 32, and 40 000 plants per acre (PPA) were included for each treatment. Early plants in mixed stands produced higher yields and late plants produced lower yields than did plants in uniformly emerging stands of the same planting date. The yield difference produced by early and late plants increased as stand density increased. Early plants in mixed stands had larger stems, more tillers, longer ears, more ears, fewer barren plants, and produced more grain per plant than did late plants. In mixed stands, late plants were shorter while early plants were similar in height to plants in uniformly emerging stands. Grain yields were lower for both differentially emerging stands than for the uniformly emerging stands at all densities. Grain yields of E + 7 mixed stands were intermediate between uniformly emerging E and + 7 stands for all plant densities, except 32 000 PPA, and not statistically different from yields produced by + 7 uniform stands. For mixed stands E + 14, the composite yield was comparable to that of uniform stands planted + 14. While stands with late-emerging plants produced lower grain yield, replanting to obtain uniform plant emergence is not economically justified.