Housing Attainment of Interracial Couples in the United States

Abstract

Over the past few decades, interracial and interethnic marriages have increased significantly. The rise in intermarriages has been celebrated for their potential to reduce ethnoracial distinctions and ethnoracial inequality. Whether the increase in interracial and interethnic unions can reduce disparities in homeownership across ethnoracial groups is unknown. Using data on the 2008–2021 American Community Survey (ACS), we compare the homeownership rates of Millennials in intermarriages with those of couples in endogamous unions and identify the factors contributing to differences in homeownership rates between interracial and couples in ethnoracial endogamy. Our results show that the homeownership rates of interracial couples fall somewhere between those of endogamous couples belonging to the husband’s or wife’s ethnoracial groups. These differences emerge primarily due to variations in nativity composition, educational attainment, family income, average value of homes, and proportion of rentals. The intermediary homeownership rates of interracial couples suggest that the rise in intermarriages will reduce ethnoracial inequality in homeownership rates. Nonetheless, couples in marriages involving an ethnoracial minority spouse have lower homeownership rates than endogamous White couples. This White/non-White divide in homeownership rates highlights the need for a housing policy that enhances opportunities for homeownership among interracial and endogamous minority couples.