What are the most and least diverse states?
The Census Bureau’s formula for measuring diversity shows that every state but one is more varied racially or ethnically since 2020.
Every state except New Mexico became more diverse — that is, the likelihood of two randomly selected people having different racial and ethnic backgrounds increased — between 2020 and 2024.
The Census Bureau’s Diversity Index measures the probability that two people in a particular location selected at random will be from different racial and ethnic groups and gives each locale a score between 0% and 100%. A score of 0% means that the two people are from similar racial and ethnic backgrounds, and 100% indicates completely different racial backgrounds.
Which states have had the biggest change in diversity since 2020?
The states with the biggest increases in their Diversity Index (DI) scores were Washington (up 3.9 percentage points); Utah and Massachusetts (up 3.6); Iowa (up 3.5) and North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Oregon (each up 3.4).
The states with the least change were Hawaii (up 0.2), California (up 0.3), and Mississippi (up 0.9). The only state with a negative score — less diversity — was New Mexico, with a DI drop of -0.001.
Every state except New Mexico became more diverse from 2020 to 2024.
State diversity by Diversity Index, 2020 and 2024
Hawaii and California had the least change but the highest 2024 DI scores overall: 76.1%, and 69.1%. Nevada (69.0%), Maryland (67.0%), and Texas (66.8%) round out the five most diverse states.
The lowest DI scores in 2024 were in Maine (16.5%), Vermont (17.0%), West Virginia (17.8%), New Hampshire (21.9%), and Montana (27.3%).
Get weekly insights
Subscribe for data-driven insights. No spin, just the facts.
How do the proportions of racial and ethnic groups vary by state?
A high DI score tells us something about a state’s overall diversity but not its specific racial and ethnic breakdown — and that varies widely among states.
Hawaii had the highest DI score in 2024, and its largest racial groups were Asian (36.3%), white (21.3%), two or more races (20.3%), Hispanic (10.2%), and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (9.7%). The largest racial groups in California, and the second highest DI score in 2024, were Hispanic (40.8%), white (33.6%), Asian (16.3%), and Black or African American (5.5%).
Maine was the least diverse, with 91.3% of residents identifying as white and the remaining 8.7% spread across the other six groups.
The proportion of each racial and ethnic group varies by state.
Percentage of state diversity by Diversity Index score and race and ethnicity, 2024
Which counties are the most racially diverse?
Five of the top 10 most diverse counties — including numbers one through four — are in Hawaii: Hawaii County (77.8%), Maui County (76.9%), Kauai County (76.6%), Kalawao County (76.1%), and Honolulu County (74.0%).
The other counties with the highest DI scores were:
- Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska (76.1%)
- Fort Bend County, Texas (75.9%)
- Queens County, New York (75.5%)
- Solano County, California (75.1%))
- Gwinnett County, Georgia (74.8%)
The four most diverse counties were in Hawaii.
County diversity by Diversity Index, 2024
The lowest-scoring counties were:
- McPherson and Dickenson Counties, Virginia (tied at 5.7%)
- Arthur County, Nebraska (5.6%)
- Holmes County, Ohio (5.2%)
- Magoffin County, Kentucky (5.1%)
How has diversity by county changed since 2020?
County DI scores reveal a more detailed picture. While diversity increased overall at the state level between 2020 and 2024, scores dropped in some counties.
Five of the top seven largest county declines were in Texas, with the biggest drop — 6.7 percentage points — in Hudspeth County. In California, scores fell in nearly one out of every three counties.
Five of the top seven counties with the largest declines in diversity were in Texas.
Percentage point change in Diversity Index by county, 2020 to 2024
Most counties did have increases. Of the 3,144 counties nationwide, 144 had their scores rise by at least 5 percentage points. The majority had smaller increases; 2,845 counties had gains between 0 and 4.9 points.
Loving County, Texas had the biggest growth of any county: its DI score rose 15.7 percentage points. Four of the ten largest increases were in Georgia or Alaska.
The ten counties with the biggest increases were:
- Loving County, Texas (15.7 percentage point increase)
- Renville County, North Dakota (11.4)
- Hendricks County, Indiana (10.3)
- Hayes County, Nebraska (9.9)
- Jackson County, Georgia (9.8)
- Skagway Municipality, Alaska (9.5)
- Dawson County, Georgia (9.3)
- Kiowa County, Kansas (8.7)
- Dagget County, Utah (8.6)
- Denali Borough, Alaska (6.4)
The counties with the biggest decreases were:
- Hudspeth County, Texas (-6.7 percentage point decrease)
- La Salle County, Texas (-4.1)
- DeKalb County, Missouri (-4.0)
- Ector County, Texas (-3.8)
- Moore County, Texas (-2.9)
- Seward County, Kansas (-2.9)
- Deaf Smith County, Texas (-2.7)
- Lee County, New Mexico (-2.7)
- Hendry County, Florida (-2.3)
- Imperial, County, California (-2.3)
Diversity levels change over time as the population changes like when people are born, move around, and die, and in response to cultural shifts in things like household makeup and how people identify themselves. In fact, the Census Bureau adjusted how it asked respondents about their racial and ethnic identities in the 2020 Census survey to more accurately represent how people self-identify. The Bureau found that the US is more multiracial than the Bureau had measured in past surveys.
Where does this data come from?
Where does this data come from?
Data published in this article comes from the Census Bureau’s 2024 state population estimates. Estimates are updated annually following the most recent decennial census by using measures of population change. The estimate methodology is calculated by the following: population base + births – deaths + migration = population estimate.
The Census Bureau’s Diversity Index is a calculation that measures the distribution of a characteristic, in this case racial and ethnic diversity, in a population. The index is bound by a value of zero and one; a value of zero would mean that the entire population shares the same race or ethnic identity, and a value of one would mean that no two race or ethnic identities are the same in the population. The Census converts the index to percentages (i.e. multiplies the index value by 100) to make them easier to interpret.
Learn more about the US population, and get the data straight to your inbox with our weekly newsletter.
