Spatial patterns of interracial marriage in the South Atlantic United States

Using Census data, regression analyses were performed at the state level for the South Atlantic region of the U.S. and at the Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) level for the state of Florida to evaluate possible relationships between the dependent variable, the percentage married households interracial, and several independent variables. Only two of the independent variables examined at the state level were statistically significant: the percent black and the percentage of the population that reside in metropolitan areas. No significant relationships could be found at the PUMA level of analysis. Spatial patterns of interracial marriage were evaluated as well. The northernmost states and Florida had the highest percentage of married households interracial. West Virginia and the Carolinas had the lowest rate of intermarriage. PUMAs containing military bases, major universities or those to the South, influenced by migrations from Latin America and the Caribbean, had the greatest percentage of married households interracial.