National briefs: 1 in 5 U.S. spouses are foreign-born

09/06/13

WASHINGTON -- One in five married households has at least one spouse who was born outside the United States, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

Immigration trends have contributed to the growing number of foreign-born Americans, and the Census Bureau found 21 percent of married households in the U.S. in 2011 had at least one foreign-born spouse.

In California, Nevada, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, at least 12 percent of the married households included one American-born spouse and another foreign-born person, which the Census Bureau calls "mixed-nativity." The national average is 7.4 percent.

Hawaii had the highest percentage of such households, at 16 percent. Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia had the lowest percentages, each at 2 percent.

The report did not include same-sex married couples.

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