California cities take a tumble in diversity rankings. See the updated top 10 list

Hanh Truong
Updated ·1 min read
22

Only one California city is among the 10 most diverse in America, according to a new study.

For its diversity study series, WalletHub assessed 501 of the largest cities in the country, ranking their diversity based on several factors. This includes socioeconomics, culture — which includes race, ethnicity and language — age and occupation.

Los Angeles rounded out the overall top 10.

Three Maryland cities ranked the highest with Silver Spring at No. 3, Germantown at No. 2 and Gaithersburg at No. 1.

The overall top 10:

  • Gaithersburg, MD

  • Germantown, MD

  • Silver Spring, MD

  • Houston, TX

  • Arlington, TX

  • New York, NY

  • Jersey City, NJ

  • Charlotte, NC

  • Dallas, TX

  • Los Angeles, CA

Other California cities that made it near the top are Long Beach at No. 15, Oakland at No. 19, Sacramento at No. 28 and Anaheim at No. 30.

The new study shows California dropping in its diversity score, compared to four years ago. WalletHub conducted a similar study in 2019 and reported that Sacramento was the 13th-most diverse city in the United States.

Oakland was at No. 7, San Jose at No. 8 and San Francisco at No. 11. Los Angeles was at No. 22.

More findings

Detailed rankings show California faring better in diversity.

Under cultural diversity, San Jose is at No. 9, Oakland at No. 10 and San Francisco at No. 15.

Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles follow behind at No. 21, 22 and 23, respectively.

Germantown is No. 1 in this category.

For economic diversity, which entails differences in industries, occupation and worker-class, Sacramento makes it at No. 8.

Under racial and ethnic diversity, Oakland is at No. 2 and the capital city is at No. 4. Germantown tops this list also.

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