According to a new study by WalletHub that compared the 501 most populated ‘cities’ across the country, the #1 most diverse city in America is located right here in the DMV area!
In fact, not only did the DMV area have the #1 most ethnically diverse ‘city’ in America… There were four towns from the DMV area that ranked among the study’s top-10 most diverse cities!
Those ‘cities’ were:
- Germantown, MD – #1 most ethnically diverse ‘city’ in the nation
- Gaithersburg, MD – #3 most ethnically diverse ‘city’ in the nation
- Silver Spring, MD – #4 most ethnically diverse ‘city’ in the nation
- Rockville, MD – #9 most ethnically diverse ‘city’ in the nation
How is Germantown, MD, the most diverse city in America?
With an overall ethnic diversity score of 72.83, Germantown is the most culturally diverse city in the nation, at least according to this study.
Specifically, across the study’s three core dimensions, Germantown was ranked #1 in ethnoracial diversity, #5 in linguistic diversity, and #100 in birthplace diversity.
Being the most culturally diverse city in the country, here are a few stats about Germantown that you might not be aware of:
- The majority of the local population fits into one of four ethnic groups: 23% white, 27% Black, 23% Hispanic, and 21% Asian.
- In terms of language spoken at home in Germantown, around 52% of residents speak exclusively English, 19% speak Spanish, 11% speak primarily other Indo-European languages, and around 13% speak predominantly Asian or Pacific Islander languages.
What was the methodology of this study?
The study focused on comparing the 501 most populous cities in America across three dimensions: Ethnoracial Diversity, Linguistic Diversity, and Birthplace Diversity.
To ensure equal representation across the country, the study’s sample excluded metro areas and limited no more than 10 cities from each state.
The study also categorized each city into one of three categories based on size:
- Large city: More than 300,000 people.
- Midsize City: Between 100,000 and 300,000 people.
- Small City: Fewer than 100,000 people.
Across those three dimensions, each had a unique weight in terms of scoring:
- Ethnoracial Diversity – 50.00 potential points
- Linguistic Diversity – 33.33 potential points
- Birthplace Diversity – 16.67 potential points