New Marriages, New Families: U.S. Racial and Hispanic Intermarriage

By the 2000 Census, several changes had occurred to alter the racial composition of the U.S. population, including the change to allow people to report more than one race (see Box 3). Thus, racial categories are not directly comparable between the 2000 and earlier censuses. According to the 2000 Census, the white population had declined to 75 percent of Americans; blacks, at slightly over 12 percent, remained the second largest racial group. The Asian population had increased to almost 4 percent of the population, and other racial groups such as people who reported a single some other race (SOR) and people who reported two or more races (MR) had also become more numerous. Meanwhile, Hispanics (who can be any race) were almost 13 percent of the total population and had overtaken blacks as the largest minority group.

Immigration

High levels of immigration from Latin America, Asia, and other parts of the world have contributed to recent U.S. population growth and diversity. In 2000, more than 11 percent of the U.S. population was foreign-born, a figure that had steadily increased since 1950. These high numbers or percentages were not the most remarkable feature of recent trends-immigration was also very high in the early 20th century. The recent immigration stream was distinctive because of the origins of immigrants, who brought unprecedented ethnic and racial diversity to the country. While most early 20th-century immigrants were from Europe, more than one-half (52 percent) of current immigrants are from Latin America, and another 26 percent are from Asia.16

Net immigration has also become a major contributor to recent U.S. population growth. Since 1970, net immigration has been responsible for 30 percent to nearly 40 percent of U.S. population growth.

Population Projections

The U.S. population will become even more diverse in the future, as immigration from non-European countries continues and the second generation (the children of immigrants) expands. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2020, the Hispanic population will be almost one-sixth (17 percent) of the total population and the combined population of Asians and Pacific Islanders will rise to more than 7 percent.17 Under this scenario, the black and American Indian populations would show modest or little change, reducing their share of the total; the white population (including Hispanics) would be about 80 percent of the total population. By 2050, one in every four Americans would be Hispanic and one in every 10 would be Asian or Pacific Islander. Whites would still be the largest racial group, at 75 percent of the population.18 More than one-half of the white population would be non-Hispanic (53 percent), while 22 percent would be Hispanic.

Role of Intermarriage

Immigration is a key factor behind the increased racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population in recent decades. Intermarriage across racial and ethnic groups has also contributed to this diversity. Rates of intermarriage have been steadily rising over the last several decades, particularly among nonblack minority groups. Previous studies have shown that American Indians, Hawaiians, and Asians were more likely to intermarry than blacks, suggesting that social norms against white-black marriages were much stronger than norms against marriages among the other groups.19 Because the growth and diversification of the U.S. population in recent decades have been primarily fueled by increases in the nonblack minority groups-in particular, Asians and Hispanics-the role of intermarriage in the continued diversification of the U.S. population will become even more important.