These Are the Most Diverse Cities in the U.S. Right Now

This study took five major categories of diversity into consideration.

Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas | Shutterstock
Houston, Texas | Shutterstock

America is growing more diverse each year, some places quicker than others. The United States is quite literally built on unity—it's in the name—and as the nation continues to diversify, it's a great opportunity to embrace the strength that comes with a variety of perspectives and skills contributing to our society.

Financial advice site WalletHub was curious which major US cities boast the greatest diversity, so it conducted a series of studies to answer the question. Data was compiled for 13 metrics across five different categories: household diversity, religious diversity, socioeconomic diversity, cultural diversity, economic diversity.

The result is a definitive list of 501 cities, ranked from most to least diverse, which is summarized in the map and text below.

You'll see on the map which areas shine and which stand out for all the wrong reasons. In a surprise, The Melting Pot—New York City—only landed in third place, making way for Jersey City, New Jersey, to nab the second-place spot and Houston, Texas, to win the coveted title of the most all-around diverse city in America.

On the flip side, cities in states like MaineWest Virginia, New Hampshire, and Vermont generally ranked poorly, and Provo, Utah, landed last in 501st place.

See the most and least diverse cities below and view the full WalletHub study for more detailed insights.

The 25 Least Diverse Cities in the US

25. Beckley, West Virginia
24. Auburn, Maine
23. Springfield, Oregon
22. Richmond, Kentucky
21. Hialeah, Florida
20. Rutland, Vermont
19. Westbrook, Maine
18. Sanford, Maine
17. Bennington, Vermont
16. Morgantown, West Virginia
15. Laconia, New Hampshire
14. Kalispell, Montana
13. Augusta, Maine
12. Lebanon, New Hampshire
11. Huntington, West Virginia
10. Saco, Maine
9. Parkersburg, West Virginia
8. Lewiston, Idaho
7. Rochester, New Hampshire
6. Keene, New Hampshire
5. Barre, Vermont
4. Bangor, Maine
3. Orem, Utah
2. Brattleboro, Vermont
1. Provo, Utah
 

The 25 Most Diverse Cities in the US

25. Fort Worth, Texas
24. Roswell, Georgia
23. Bridgeport, Connecticut
22. Charlotte, North Carolina
21. Norwalk, Connecticut
20. San Diego, California
19. New Rochelle, New York
18. Alexandria, Virginia
17. Clifton, New Jersey
16. Stamford, Connecticut
15. Yonkers, New York
14. Aurora, Illinois
13. Sandy Springs, Georgia
12. Germantown, Maryland
10. Chicago, Illinois (tie)
10. Danbury, Connecticut (tie)
9. Long Beach, California
8. Arlington, Texas
7. Silver Spring, Maryland
6. Gaithersburg, Maryland
5. Los Angeles, California
4. Dallas, Texas
3. New York, New York
2. Jersey City, New Jersey
1. Houston, Texas

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Kyler Alvord is a news writer at Thrillist. Find him on Twitter and Instagram. Or don't. It's really up to you.