New Explorations of Race Reporting for Interracial Couples and Their Children: Census 2000

Nicholas A. Jones, U.S. Census Bureau
Amy S. Smith, U.S. Census Bureau

Our previous analyses of children in two-parent interracial families in Census 2000 found significant variations in race reporting patterns by age, sex, Hispanic origin, and regional distributions, and illustrated that the number of multiple race children in Census 2000 does not reflect the potential number of children who – based on their interracial parentage – could have been reported as more than one race, or may do so in the future. We extend these analyses to examine geographic and contextual variables that may influence differential race reporting patterns for children in interracial families. Our research highlights the complexity of race reporting for children in interracial families.