Intermarriage in the United States tilts west. Between 2008 and 2010, about one-in-five (22%) of all newlyweds in Western states married someone of a different race or ethnicity. This figure compares favorably to the South (14%), the Northeast (13%) and the Midwest (11%).

On a state level, more than four-in-ten (42%) newlyweds in Hawaii between 2008 and 2010 intermarried. The only states with an intermarriage rate of 20% or more are west of the Mississippi River.

The states with the highest prevalence of marriages between whites and Hispanics are New Mexico (19%), Arizona (12%) and Nevada (11%). For marriages between whites and Asians, Hawaii (9%), the District of Columbia (7%) and Nevada (5%) lead the way. And for white/black intermarried couples, Virginia (3.3%), North Carolina (3.2%) and Kansas (3.0%) are at the top of the list. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.