Using data from the 1990 U.S. Census, as well as in-depth interviews, this article examines the intermarriage patterns of five Asian-American groups in the New York City region: Chinese, Koreans, Indians, Japanese and Filipinos. Intermarriage patterns for all five Asian groups are analyzed, according to gender, nativity and education. American-born Asians are much more likely to intermarry than foreign-born Asians. Asian women are much more likely to intermarry than Asian men. We also find little evidence for Robert Merton's hypothesis that minority men exchange their high socioeconomic status for a white woman's “high” social status. Evidence strongly indicates that intermarried individuals share educational homogeneity. This analysis is further substantiated by in-depth interviews with intermarried couples who live in the region. The consequences and future prospects of intermarriage for Asian Americans are also discussed.
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