FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 16, 2012

Intermarried Couples: Trends and Characteristics

A new report from the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project analyzes the rising prevalence of racial and ethnic intermarriage, and compares rates among different ethnic and racial groups. The report also uses public opinion data to look at changing attitudes toward intermarriage.

BY D’Vera Cohn

FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES:

Communications Department
202.419.4372
www.pewresearch.org

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Pew Research Center, February 2012, "Intermarried Couples: Trends and Characteristics"

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Table of contents

Intermarried Couples: Trends and Characteristics

A new report from the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project analyzes the rising prevalence of racial and ethnic intermarriage, and compares rates among different ethnic and racial groups. The report also uses public opinion data to look at changing attitudes toward intermarriage.

More than one-in-six new marriages these days (15%) take place between people from different race or ethnic groups, according to a report from the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project that uses data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Among all marriages, 8.4% are intermarriages. Patterns vary widely by race and ethnic group, the report finds, and within each group they vary by gender. The report examines similarities and differences between couples who “marry out” and couples who “marry in,” analyzes regional differences in patterns of intermarriage, and uses Pew Research Center public opinion surveys to explore society’s changing attitudes towards couples who marry outside their race or ethnic group.