U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

census.gov

Married-Couple Households by 

Nativity Status: 2011

American Community Survey Briefs

Issued September 2013

ACSBR/11-16

By Luke J. Larsen and Nathan P. Walters

INTRODUCTION

According to the results of the 2010 Census, almost 

7 percent of married-couple households in the United 

States included a householder and a spouse of different races.1,2 In addition, about 4 percent of marriedcouple households were composed of partners where 

one was Hispanic and the other not of Hispanic origin.3

Researchers estimate that the proportion of all marriages that were either interracial or interethnic had 

increased from about 3 percent in 1980 to over 8 percent in 2010.4

The increase in interracial and interethnic marriage

over the last four decades may have been partially 

driven by the steady growth in the number of foreign 

born in the United States, especially those from Asia 

and Latin America and the Caribbean.5,6 Between 1980 

and 2010, the foreign-born population increased from 

14.1 million to 40.0 million. About two-thirds (65 

percent) of that increase was due to the growth in the 

foreign-born population from Latin America and the 

Caribbean, with over one-third (34 percent) due to 

the growth in the foreign born from Asia. Because the 

growth of the foreign-born population has contributed 

1 Daphne Lofquist, Terry Lugaila, Martin O’Connell, and Sarah Feliz, 

“Households and Families: 2010,” U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 

2010 Census Briefs (C2010BR-14), 2012. 2 In this report, the United States includes the 50 states and the 

District of Columbia. 3 Lofquist et al., 2012.

4 Wendy Wang, “The Rise of Intermarriage: Rates, Characteristics 

Vary by Race and Gender,” Pew Research Center, Washington, DC, 

February 16, 2012. 5 Jeffrey S. Passel, Wendy Wang, and Paul Taylor, “Marrying Out: Onein-Seven New U.S. Marriages is Interracial or Interethnic,” Pew Research 

Center, Washington, DC, June 15, 2010. 6 Elizabeth M. Grieco et al., “The Size, Place of Birth, and Geographic 

Distribution of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 1960 

to 2010,” U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, Population Division 

Working Paper 96, 2012.

to the racial and ethnic diversity of the United States, 

it is likely that this growth has enlarged the pool of 

potential spouses for out-marriage, thereby increasing 

the proportion of interracial and interethnic marriages.7

As the growth in the foreign-born population may have 

influenced the rate of intermarriage among racial and 

ethnic groups, it is possible that it also influenced the 

rate of intermarriage between native and foreign-born 

people. However, while researchers have analyzed 

7 Passel et al., 2010.

Nativity and Citizenship

Nativity status: Whether a U.S. resident

is native born or foreign born.

Native born: Anyone who is a U.S. citizen at birth. 

This includes people born in the United States, 

Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area (U.S. Virgin Islands, 

Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth

of the Northern Mariana Islands), or abroad of a

U.S. citizen parent or parents. In this report, 

the terms “native” and “native born” are used 

interchangeably.

Foreign born: Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen at 

birth, including those who have become U.S. citizens 

through naturalization.

U.S. citizen: Respondents who are either (1) native 

born or (2) foreign born who indicated that they 

became U.S. citizens through naturalization.

Not a U.S. citizen: Respondents who indicated that 

they were not U.S. citizens at the time of the survey. 

In this report, the terms “not a U.S. citizen” and “noncitizen” are used interchangeably.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

intermarriage among different 

racial and ethnic groups, considerably less is known about patterns 

of intermarriage between the native 

and foreign-born populations. 

Using the 2011 American

Community Survey (ACS), this 

report examines the number and 

geographic distribution of mixednativity married-couple households 

in the United States. Three types 

of married-couple households are 

considered: (1) those in which the 

husband and the wife are both 

native; (2) those in which they are 

both foreign born; and (3) those in 

which one spouse is native and the 

other is foreign born. This report 

begins by examining the number 

and distribution of married-couple 

households across these types, 

with emphasis on the citizenship 

of the householder and spouse 

within each. Additional information 

on mixed-nativity married couples 

regarding sex, citizenship status, 

and world region of birth is then 

discussed. Finally, the geographic 

distribution of mixed-nativity 

married-couple households by

state is also explored.

FINDINGS

According to the ACS, there were 

115 million households in the 

United States in 2011.8 Less than 

half (55.5 million, or 48 percent) 

were married-couple households, and less than one in seven 

(16.2 million, or 14 percent) had 

a foreign-born householder.9

8 Data from “Selected Population Profile

in the United States” (Table S0201), 2011 

American Community Survey 1-Year 

Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau, available via 

American FactFinder at <http://factfinder2

.census.gov>. 9 This report focuses on married-couple 

households, defined as households including 

a householder with a spouse present. Households consisting of: (1) a married householder 

with an absent spouse, or (2) an unmarried 

householder with an unmarried partner 

present, were not included in this analysis. 

In addition, married couples in which neither 

spouse is a householder were not included. 

Households maintained by

foreign-born householders were 

more likely than those with nativeborn householders to be marriedcouple households (55 percent and 

47 percent, respectively). 

Most of the 55.5 million marriedcouple households in the United 

States (79 percent) consisted

of a husband and a wife who 

were both native born (Table 1).10

Another 13 percent (7.3 million) 

were households in which both 

10 Data on same-sex married couples in 

the ACS are edited and shown along with data 

on same-sex unmarried partners in Census 

Bureau reports. Only opposite-sex married 

couples are discussed in this report. 

Table 1.

Married-Couple Households by Nativity Status: 2011

(Numbers in thousands. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error,

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)

Nativity status of

the married couple Number

Margin of 

error1 Percent

Margin of 

error1

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,520 157 100.0 (X)

Both native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,120 141 79.5 0.1

Mixed nativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,091 38 7.4 0.1

Native householder/foreign-born spouse . . . 2,553 29 4.6 0.1

Foreign-born householder/native spouse . . 1,538 20 2.8 –

Both foreign born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,309 41 13.2 0.1

(X) Not applicable.

– Represents or rounds to zero. 1

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure 

of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the

90 percent confidence interval.

Note: Some totals may not match the sum of their components due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

Households and Housing Concepts

Household: Includes all the people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or 

a single room that is occupied (or, if vacant, intended for occupancy) 

as separate living quarters. The occupants may be a single family, one 

person living alone, two or more families living together, or any other 

groups of related or unrelated people who share living arrangements.

Householder: One person in each household is designated as the 

householder. In most cases, this is the person, or one of the people, in 

whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented. If there is no 

such person in the household, any adult household member 15 years old 

and over could be designated as the householder.

Foreign-born household: A household in which the designated householder is foreign born (regardless of the other occupants’ nativity).

Spouse: Includes a person married to and living with a householder who 

is of the opposite sex of the householder.

Married-couple household: A householder and his or her spouse living 

in the same household, with or without other household members.

Married-couple households by nativity type: In a mixed-nativity 

married-couple household, one of the spouses is native and the other is 

foreign born. In a native married-couple household, both the husband 

and wife are native; similarly, in a foreign-born married-couple household, both the husband and wife are foreign born. 
U.S. Census Bureau 3

spouses were foreign born, and in 

the remaining 7 percent (4.1 million) of married-couple households, 

the spouses were of mixed nativity—that is, the spouses differed in 

their nativity status. Collectively, 

over one out of every five marriedcouple households in the United 

States (11.4 million, or 21 percent) had at least one foreign-born 

spouse.

Most of the 7.3 million foreignborn married-couple households 

(61 percent) included at least one 

foreign-born spouse who was

naturalized, including 41 percent 

where the husband and wife were

U.S. citizens and 20 percent where 

only one spouse was naturalized 

(Figure 1).11 In addition, 39 percent 

of all foreign-born married-couple 

11 This report uses an alternative method 

to determine the nativity status of marriedcouple households. Traditionally, the nativity 

status of the household is determined solely 

by the nativity of the householder (either 

native or foreign born). In this report, nativity status of the household is determined 

using the nativity of the householder and the 

spouse (both native, mixed, or both foreign 

born). As a result, for example, the number 

of foreign-born married-couple households 

using the traditional method is 8.8 million (see footnote 8) versus 7.3 million (see 

Table 1) using the alternative method. The 

traditional total can be obtained by adding 

the 1.5 million mixed-nativity married-couple 

households with a foreign-born householder 

in Table 1 to the 7.3 million in which both 

spouses are foreign born.

households were composed of noncitizen couples.12 

Among the 4.1 million mixednativity married-couple households, foreign-born spouses were 

more likely to be naturalized

U.S. citizens than noncitizens

(61 percent and 39 percent, respectively; Table 2). This finding did 

not vary when considering the sex 

of the foreign-born spouse. However, foreign-born wives were more 

likely than foreign-born husbands 

to be naturalized citizens. Among 

12 In this report, the terms “married-couple 

households” and “couples” are used interchangeably.

Figure 1.

Married-Couple Households by Nativity and Citizenship Status of Each Spouse: 2011

(Percent distribution. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and 

definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

Naturalized U.S. citizen 

and noncitizen 

Both spouses native

(44.1 million households)

Both naturalized 

U.S. citizens 

Both noncitizens 

Native and noncitizen 

Native and naturalized 

U.S. citizen 

Married-couple

households =

55.5 million

Both spouses

foreign born

(7.3 million households)

One spouse native,

one spouse foreign born

(4.1 million households)

13.2

7.4

79.5

39.2 40.6

20.2

38.6

61.4
4 U.S. Census Bureau

mixed-nativity couples with a

native husband, 63 percent of the 

foreign-born wives were naturalized

U.S. citizens and 37 percent were 

noncitizens. By comparison, in 

mixed-nativity married-couple 

households with native wives,

59 percent of the foreign-born

husbands had naturalized, while

41 percent were noncitizens.

Foreign-born spouses in mixednativity married-couple households were most likely to have

been born in Latin America and

the Caribbean (40 percent), followed by Europe (26 percent) and 

Asia (23 percent; Table 3). However, 

this rank ordering was conditional 

on the sex of the foreign-born 

spouse. Foreign-born husbands in 

this type of household were more 

likely than foreign-born wives to 

have been born in Latin America 

and the Caribbean (45 percent and 

35 percent, respectively) or in Africa 

(5 percent and 2 percent, respectively), but foreign-born wives 

were more likely than foreign-born 

husbands to have been born in 

Asia (29 percent and 15 percent, 

respectively).13 

Individual states differed considerably in the proportion of their 

married-couple households that 

were composed of mixed-nativity 

couples. About 16 percent of married-couple households that resided 

in Hawaii in 2011 were of mixed 

nativity (Figure 2); this was the 

highest rate of mixed-nativity couples at the state level. In general, 

13 In addition, foreign-born husbands in 

mixed-nativity married-couple households 

were more likely to be born in Europe or 

in Oceania (26.5 percent and 1.3 percent, 

respectively) than were foreign-born wives 

(25.5 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively). 

Though these differences by sex were not 

substantial, they were statistically significant.

Table 2.

Mixed-Nativity Married-Couple Households by Sex and 

Citizenship Status of the Foreign-Born Spouse: 2011

(Married-couple households in which one spouse is native and the other is foreign born. 

Numbers in thousands. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error,

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)

Citizenship composition of

the married couple Number

Margin of 

error1 Percent

Margin of 

error1

 Total households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,091 38 100.0 (X)

Foreign-born spouse is:

Naturalized U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,511 32 61.4 0.4

Not a U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,580 20 38.6 0.4

 Households with native husband . 2,270 27 100.0 (X)

Foreign-born wife is:

Naturalized U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,437 24 63.3 0.6

Not a U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 833 15 36.7 0.6

 Households with native wife . . . . . 1,821 24 100.0 (X)

Foreign-born husband is:

Naturalized U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,074 18 59.0 0.6

Not a U.S. citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746 14 41.0 0.6

(X) Not applicable. 1

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure 

of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the

90 percent confidence interval.

Note: Some totals may not match the sum of their components due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

Table 3.

Mixed-Nativity Married-Couple Households by Sex and 

World Region of Birth of the Foreign-Born Spouse: 2011

(Married-couple households in which one spouse is native and the other is foreign born. 

Numbers in thousands. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error,

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)

World region of birth of

foreign-born spouse Number

Margin of 

error1 Percent

Margin of 

error1

 Total households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,091 38 100.0 (X)

Foreign-born spouse born in:

Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 7 3.3 0.2

Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941 19 23.0 0.4

Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,061 16 25.9 0.4

Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . . . 1,632 23 39.9 0.4

Northern America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 10 6.8 0.2

Oceania2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 3 1.1 0.1

 Households with native husband . 2,270 27 100.0 (X)

Foreign-born wife born in:

Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 5 2.1 0.2

Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667 15 29.4 0.6

Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 12 25.5 0.5

Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . . . 805 17 35.5 0.6

Northern America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 6 6.6 0.3

Oceania2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2 0.9 0.1

 Households with native wife . . . . . 1,821 24 100.0 (X)

Foreign-born husband born in:

Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 5 4.8 0.3

Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 9 15.0 0.4

Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483 10 26.5 0.5

Latin America and the Caribbean . . . . . . . . 827 17 45.4 0.6

Northern America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 6 6.9 0.3

Oceania2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2 1.3 0.1

(X) Not applicable. 1

Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure

of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less 

reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the

90 percent confidence interval. 2

 Oceania includes those who were born at sea.

Note: Some totals may not match the sum of their components due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

mixed-nativity married-couple 

households were more prevalent 

among mid-Atlantic and western 

states and less prevalent among 

midwestern and southern states 

(except for traditional immigration 

gateway states such as Florida, 

Illinois, and Texas). The states with 

the lowest mixed-nativity marriedcouple household percentages were 

Mississippi, South Dakota, and West 

Virginia at about 2 percent each.14

14 The percentages for these three states 

were not significantly different from each 

other.

SUMMARY

Of all married-couple households

in the United States in 2011,

over one out of five (21 percent) 

had at least one foreign-born 

spouse, and in about 7 percent of 

married-couple households, the 

marriage was between a native 

person and a foreign-born person 

(Figure 1). The married couples 

of these households were more 

likely to have a native husband 

and a foreign-born wife (rather 

than a foreign-born husband and 

a native wife) and to include a 

naturalized U.S. citizen (rather than 

a noncitizen). Also, the foreignborn spouses of these households 

came from diverse places of birth 

(with a plurality from Latin America 

and the Caribbean). Furthermore, 

mixed-nativity married-couple 

households were found to reside 

in all 50 states and the District of 

Columbia with higher proportions 

in some of the traditional immigration gateway states (e.g., Florida, 

Illinois, and Texas) and in many 

mid-Atlantic and western states of 

the nation. 

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

TX

CA

MT

AZ

ID

NV

KS

CO

NM

OR

UT

SD

IL

WY

NE

IA

FL

MN

OK

ND

WI

WA

AL GA

MO

PA

AR

LA

NC

MS

NY

IN

MI

VA

TN

KY

SC

OH

ME

WV

VT

NH

NJ

MD

MA

CT

DE

RI

DC

AK

HI

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey.

0 500 Miles

0 100 Miles

0 100 Miles

Percentage of Married-Couple Households That Were Mixed Nativity: 2011

Figure 2.

PR

0 50 Miles

Percent

12.0 or more

9.0 to 11.9

6.0 to 8.9

3.0 to 5.9

U.S. percent is 7.4

Less than 3.0
6 U.S. Census Bureau

SOURCE AND ACCURACY

The data presented in this report 

are based on the ACS sample interviewed in 2011. The estimates in 

this report based on this sample 

approximate the actual values and 

represent the entire household 

population. Sampling error is the 

difference between an estimate 

based on a sample and the corresponding value that would be 

obtained if the estimate were based 

on the entire population (as from a 

census). Measures of the sampling 

errors are provided in the form of 

margins of error for key estimates 

included in this report. All comparative statements in this report 

have undergone statistical testing, 

and comparisons are significant at 

the 90 percent level unless otherwise noted. In addition to sampling 

error, nonsampling error may be 

introduced during any of the operations used to collect and process 

survey data such as editing, reviewing, or keying data from questionnaires. For more information on 

sampling and estimation methods, 

confidentiality protection, and 

sampling and nonsampling errors, 

please see the 2011 ACS Accuracy 

of the Data document located at 

<www.census.gov/acs

/www/Downloads/data

_documentation/Accuracy/ACS

_Accuracy_of_Data_2011.pdf>.

What Is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey 

designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, 

congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every 

year. It has an annual sample size of about 3.3 million addresses 

across the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing 

units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities and prisons). The 

ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation, and

every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico

Community Survey. Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 2005 were 

released for geographic areas with populations of 65,000 and 

greater. For information on the ACS sample design and other topics, 

visit <www.census.gov/acs/www>.