States With the Most Black-White Interracial Couples

The idea of people of different races, nationalities, or religions (or of the same sex) getting married, or even dating, stirs up anger and often outright hatred in all too many people, even today. Prejudices of all kinds are still all too alive in America.

Films and television shows began depicting interracial relationships, and in particular those between a Black and a white person, in the latter part of the 20th century — for instance, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “A Taste of Honey,” “The Jeffersons,” and “I Spy.” These most likely had some positive effect on public perceptions, but they were also reviled by some and subject to censorship or condemnation, especially in the South.

More recently, TV commercials have entered the fray. A groundbreaking Cheerios ad, aired in 2013, featured a Black man, his white wife, and their child — and inspired a spate of racist reactions. (The cereal’s maker, General Mills, refused to pull the commercial, but did disable the comments section accompanying the YouTube video.) A 2016 Old Navy commercial involving a Black-white couple inspired a nationwide (if ultimately unsuccessful) boycott movement. Today, big-name brands like Geico, Banana Republic, and IKEA air commercials showing Black-white pairings, and objections to them are more muted.

There are plenty of real-life celebrity couples who link ethnicities, too. Think (or don’t) of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, or consider Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower, Ice T and Coco, Wolfgang Puck and Gelila Assefa, and for that matter, Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff.

Nonetheless, it is sobering to remember that well into the last century, 41 states had antimiscegenation laws on the books. (“Miscegenation,” today considered a pejorative term, comes from the Latin words “miscere,” to mix, and “genus,” race, and was first coined by the anonymous author of a racist pamphlet published in the 1860s.) In fact, until 1967, following a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Loving v. Virginia, interracial marriage was still banned in 16 states — and as recently as 2019, the owner of an event space in Mississippi refused to allow an interracial wedding to take place in her facility because it went against her “religious beliefs.” (To learn about other antidiscriminatory legal landmarks, see when gay marriage was legalized in each state.)

All that aside, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2010, 15% of all new marriages were interracial — compared to 7% in 1980. In order to determine the state with the highest percentages of Black-white couples, 24/7 Tempo reviewed further Census Bureau data.

Interestingly, 12 of the 20 states with the highest percentage of Black-white couples are in the South (in its broadest definition) — a region hardly known for its enlightened views on racial matters. The fact that most of these states are also among those with the highest Black population is doubtless a contributing factor.

To determine the states with the highest percentage of Black-white couples, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on race and household status from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division Working Papers program. States were ranked based on the number of Black-white couples living together — either as married partners or through cohabitation — expressed as a percentage of all coupled households. Data was calculated using five-year American Community Survey estimates for 2017-2021. Supplemental data on the Black or African American population as a percentage of all state residents is also from the 2017-2021 ACS.

50. Idaho

• Black-white couples: 0.3% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.2% of all married households (the lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.0% of all cohabitations (8th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 0.6% of total (2nd lowest)

49. Montana

• Black-white couples: 0.3% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.3% of all married households (2nd lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.6% of all cohabitations (2nd lowest)
• Black population statewide: 0.5% of total (the lowest)

48. Utah

• Black-white couples: 0.4% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.4% of all married households (3rd lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.8% of all cohabitations (4th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.1% of total (4th lowest)

47. Maine

• Black-white couples: 0.5% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.4% of all married households (4th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.9% of all cohabitations (5th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.5% of total (7th lowest)

46. Wyoming

• Black-white couples: 0.5% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.6% of all married households (10th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.4% of all cohabitations (the lowest)
• Black population statewide: 0.8% of total (3rd lowest)

45. Vermont

• Black-white couples: 0.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.5% of all married households (9th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.6% of all cohabitations (3rd lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.2% of total (5th lowest)

44. Hawaii

• Black-white couples: 0.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.5% of all married households (7th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.9% of all cohabitations (6th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.8% of total (10th lowest)

43. South Dakota

• Black-white couples: 0.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.5% of all married households (6th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.4% of all cohabitations (11th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 2.2% of total (11th lowest)

42. New Mexico

• Black-white couples: 0.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.5% of all married households (9th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 0.9% of all cohabitations (7th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.8% of total (9th lowest)

41. North Dakota

• Black-white couples: 0.7% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.5% of all married households (5th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.1% of all cohabitations (17th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 3.2% of total (13th lowest)

40. New Hampshire

• Black-white couples: 0.7% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.6% of all married households (11th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.4% of all cohabitations (9th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.3% of total (6th lowest)

39. California

• Black-white couples: 0.8% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.7% of all married households (14th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.5% of all cohabitations (12th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 5.3% of total (21st lowest)

38. Oregon

• Black-white couples: 0.8% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.7% of all married households (15th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.4% of all cohabitations (11th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 1.8% of total (8th lowest)

37. Wisconsin

• Black-white couples: 0.9% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.7% of all married households (12th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.3% of all cohabitations (19th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 6.1% of total (23rd lowest)

36. New Jersey

• Black-white couples: 0.9% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.7% of all married households (16th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.4% of all cohabitations (21st lowest)
• Black population statewide: 12.4% of total (16th highest)

35. Colorado

• Black-white couples: 0.9% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.8% of all married households (22nd lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.6% of all cohabitations (13th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 3.8% of total (17th lowest)

34. Iowa

• Black-white couples: 0.9% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.7% of all married households (13th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.5% of all cohabitations (25th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 3.7% of total (15th lowest)

33. Massachusetts

• Black-white couples: 1.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.8% of all married households (22nd lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.9% of all cohabitations (15th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 6.6% of total (24th lowest)

32. Texas

• Black-white couples: 1.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (25th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.5% of all cohabitations (22nd lowest)
• Black population statewide: 11.8% of total (18th highest)

31. Minnesota

• Black-white couples: 1.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.8% of all married households (19th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.7% of all cohabitations (24th highest)
• Black population statewide: 6.6% of total (25th lowest)

30. Mississippi

• Black-white couples: 1.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.8% of all married households (17th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.8% of all cohabitations (14th highest)
• Black population statewide: 37.1% of total (the highest)

29. Rhode Island

• Black-white couples: 1.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.8% of all married households (20th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.3% of all cohabitations (20th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 5.3% of total (20th lowest)

28. New York

• Black-white couples: 1.1% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (24th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.5% of all cohabitations (24th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 13.8% of total (13th highest)

27. Alabama

• Black-white couples: 1.1% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (24th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.3% of all cohabitations (19th highest)
• Black population statewide: 26.2% of total (5th highest)

26. Washington

• Black-white couples: 1.1% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (20th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.2% of all cohabitations (18th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 3.8% of total (16th lowest)

25. Arizona

• Black-white couples: 1.1% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.0% of all married households (18th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.9% of all cohabitations (16th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 4.3% of total (18th lowest)

24. Illinois

• Black-white couples: 1.1% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (24th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.2% of all cohabitations (21st highest)
• Black population statewide: 13.7% of total (14th highest)

23. Nebraska

• Black-white couples: 1.1% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.0% of all married households (19th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.5% of all cohabitations (24th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 4.7% of total (19th lowest)

22. Oklahoma

• Black-white couples: 1.2% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (21st highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.4% of all cohabitations (18th highest)
• Black population statewide: 7.0% of total (25th highest)

21. Pennsylvania

• Black-white couples: 1.2% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (21st highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.2% of all cohabitations (20th highest)
• Black population statewide: 10.4% of total (20th highest)

20. Michigan

• Black-white couples: 1.2% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (24th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.6% of all cohabitations (17th highest)
• Black population statewide: 13.4% of total (15th highest)

19. Alaska

• Black-white couples: 1.2% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.2% of all married households (7th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 1.6% of all cohabitations (14th lowest)
• Black population statewide: 3.0% of total (12th lowest)

18. Florida

• Black-white couples: 1.2% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.0% of all married households (16th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.8% of all cohabitations (23rd highest)
• Black population statewide: 14.9% of total (12th highest)

17. West Virginia

• Black-white couples: 1.3% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.8% of all married households (18th lowest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 5.0% of all cohabitations (3rd highest)
• Black population statewide: 3.4% of total (14th lowest)

16. Connecticut

• Black-white couples: 1.3% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (13th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.8% of all cohabitations (22nd highest)
• Black population statewide: 9.9% of total (21st highest)

15. Arkansas

• Black-white couples: 1.3% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 0.9% of all married households (23rd highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 5.1% of all cohabitations (2nd highest)
• Black population statewide: 15.1% of total (11th highest)

14. Kansas

• Black-white couples: 1.4% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (13th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.9% of all cohabitations (13th highest)
• Black population statewide: 5.4% of total (22nd lowest)

13. Missouri

• Black-white couples: 1.4% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (11th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.6% of all cohabitations (16th highest)
• Black population statewide: 11.2% of total (19th highest)

12. Indiana

• Black-white couples: 1.4% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (15th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 3.8% of all cohabitations (15th highest)
• Black population statewide: 9.3% of total (22nd highest)

11. Tennessee

• Black-white couples: 1.4% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (10th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.0% of all cohabitations (12th highest)
• Black population statewide: 16.1% of total (10th highest)

10. Louisiana

• Black-white couples: 1.4% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.0% of all married households (16th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.3% of all cohabitations (8th highest)
• Black population statewide: 31.4% of total (2nd highest)

9. Ohio

• Black-white couples: 1.5% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (11th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.0% of all cohabitations (11th highest)
• Black population statewide: 12.2% of total (17th highest)

8. South Carolina

• Black-white couples: 1.5% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.1% of all married households (9th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.9% of all cohabitations (4th highest)
• Black population statewide: 25.6% of total (6th highest)

7. Kentucky

• Black-white couples: 1.5% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.2% of all married households (8th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.2% of all cohabitations (9th highest)
• Black population statewide: 7.9% of total (24th highest)

6. Nevada

• Black-white couples: 1.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.4% of all married households (4th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 2.6% of all cohabitations (25th highest)
• Black population statewide: 9.0% of total (23rd highest)

5. North Carolina

• Black-white couples: 1.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.2% of all married households (6th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.5% of all cohabitations (7th highest)
• Black population statewide: 20.6% of total (8th highest)

4. Georgia

• Black-white couples: 1.6% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.3% of all married households (5th highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.1% of all cohabitations (10th highest)
• Black population statewide: 31.1% of total (3rd highest)

3. Virginia

• Black-white couples: 1.9% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.6% of all married households (2nd highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.9% of all cohabitations (5th highest)
• Black population statewide: 18.6% of total (9th highest)

2. Maryland

• Black-white couples: 2.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.7% of all married households (the highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 4.6% of all cohabitations (6th highest)
• Black population statewide: 29.5% of total (4th highest)

1. Delaware

• Black-white couples: 2.0% of all coupled households
• Black-white married couples: 1.4% of all married households (3rd highest)
• Black-white cohabiting couples: 6.3% of all cohabitations (the highest)
• Black population statewide: 21.5% of total (7th highest)