How Racially and Ethnically Diverse Is Your Neighborhood?

The concept of diversity refers to the representation and relative size of different racial and ethnic groups within a population, where diversity is maximized when all groups are represented in an area and have equal shares of the population.

The diversity index is the chance that two people chosen at random will be from different race and ethnicity groups. A value of 0 indicates that everyone in the population has the same racial and ethnic characteristics. A value close to 100 indicates that almost everyone in the population has different racial and ethnic characteristics. 

The racial and ethnic groups used to calculate the diversity index include:

• Hispanic or Latino of any race.
• White alone, non-Hispanic.
• Black or African American alone, non-Hispanic.
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone, non-Hispanic.
• Asian alone, non-Hispanic.
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, non-Hispanic.
• Some Other Race alone, non-Hispanic.
• Multiracial (or “Two or More Races”), non-Hispanic.

In this article, we use the diversity index to measure racial and ethnic diversity of census tracts. Tracts with high diversity index values are considered the most diverse and those with low diversity index values the least diverse.

Other approaches to measure racial and ethnic diversity include prevalence maps, prevalence rankings and diffusion score. More information on measuring racial and ethnic diversity is available on the new racial and ethnic diversity topic page.

In 2020, the diversity index of the total U.S. population was 61.1%, meaning there was a 61.1% chance that two people chosen at random were from different racial or ethnic groups.

Seven census tracts with a population over 2,000 had a diversity index of 82.0% or more — the top four in Anchorage and the other three in Queens County, New York.

Figure 3 shows the racial and ethnic distribution of the United States and the seven most diverse census tracts. The tracts each had a more equal distribution of racial and ethnic groups than the nation but there were regional differences.

For example, Alaska’s tracts had a higher percentage of non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native alone and non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander alone populations. The tracts in New York had a higher percentage of Hispanic or Latino, non-Hispanic Asian alone, and non-Hispanic Some Other Race alone populations.

Several other states also had tracts with a high diversity index. Like Alaska and New York, Hawaii, Washington and Massachusetts each had at least one tract with a diversity index of 80.0% or more. And California, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Nevada had at least one tract with a diversity index of 78.0% or more.

This table [xls 28MB] shows the racial and ethnic diversity index of all census tracts in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Four U.S. tracts with populations over 2,000 had a diversity index under 2.2% in 2020:  Daviess County, Indiana (1.9%); LaGrange County, Indiana (1.9%); Yuma County, Arizona (2.1%); and Webb County, Texas (2.1%).

The tracts in Daviess and LaGrange counties were classified as rural in 2020. Part of the Yuma County tract fell within the city of San Luis, and the one in Webb County was fully within the city of Laredo.

Figure 4 shows the racial and ethnic distribution of the U.S. and all four tracts. Each tract had a large (over 98.0%) share of one racial or ethnic group and a small (less than 1.0%) share of every other group.

In the two Indiana tracts, the non-Hispanic White alone group was the largest. However, a low diversity index does not always mean there is a high percentage of non-Hispanic White alone. In the Arizona and Texas tracts with low diversity, the largest group was Hispanic or Latino.

The Exploring Age Groups in the 2020 Census visualization and tables provide information on age, sex, and racial and ethnic diversity for all states, counties and census tracts in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Drop-down menus allow users to map the diversity index, the largest racial and ethnic group, and the second largest racial and ethnic group for the total population along with various age categories.

For example, the District of Columbia maps show:

• Tracts in central District of Columbia tended to have higher diversity indexes.
  
  
• The largest racial or ethnic group in northwestern District of Columbia tended to be non-Hispanic White alone, while the largest racial or ethnic group in eastern District of Columbia tended to be non-Hispanic Black or African American alone.
  
  
• There were several census tracts where the second largest racial or ethnic group was Hispanic or Latino, non-Hispanic Asian alone and non-Hispanic Multiracial.

Explore your neighborhood’s racial and ethnic diversity by clicking on the image below.