By Steve Timko, Reno Gazette-Journal

One in four recent Nevada marriages is interracial or interethnic, the third-highest rate in the nation, according to a Pew Center report released this week.

Using U.S. Census Bureau data, the research group concluded that out of the 57,065 marriages by Nevada residents between 2008 and 2010, 25.6 percent were interracial marriages. That trailed only Hawaii and Oklahoma.

Nevada ranked third nationally for marriages between Caucasians and Hispanics (11 percent) and also third for marriages between Caucasians and Asians (5 percent), according to the Pew Center report.

Nationally, about 15 percent of marriages were mixed.

“The rise in interracial marriage indicates that race relations have improved over the past quarter-century,” Daniel Lichter, a sociology professor at Cornell University, told the Associated Press.

“Mixed-race children have blurred America’s color line. They often interact with others on either side of the racial divide and frequently serve as brokers between friends and family members of different racial backgrounds,” Lichter said. “But America still has a long way to go.”

What does Nevada rank so high? State Demographer Jeff Hardcastle thinks it’s the types of jobs in Nevada, especially in the service industry, like hotels.

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