15 Most Diverse States in America in 2017

Do you know which are the most diverse states in America in 2017?

The USA is the country of more than 325 million people. Therefore it’s not a surprise that is rich in diversity in every possible sense. After all, it’s not called “melting pot” for no reason. When we talk about diversity we can think of many things – different religions, ethnicity, educational level, race, social status, etc. However, people most often think about diversity in the sense of ethnicity. So, if this is your field of interest you should read our article about most ethnically diverse states in America. Moreover, we also researched about most ethnically diverse cities in America so that you can have a look at that one as well.

However, considering that many articles on the Internet already covered ethnic diversity topic, we chose to skip that. So, we did something more innovative and different. We started thinking, what else can be considered as the difference between the states? What are the most diverse states in 2017 and what are the least diverse states? According to the most of the research which counted American diversity by state, Hawaii was the most diverse one. Hawaii has a little over 1 million people. Nevertheless, it’s the synonym for diversity in every possible sense. How this state ranks on our list, you will see in the part that follows.

To create our list of most diverse states in America in 2017, firstly, we took recommendations from the research made by Kaiser Family Foundation. They have measured racial diversity in every American state and ranked them in that manner. In the following text, we provided the percentage of race in each state. The level of education in each state was the second important factor for our ranking. Information about education is obtained from the Statistical Atlas. Then we compared the percent of the population of 25 and older who don’t have a high school diploma and the percentage of people with obtained bachelor’s degree. By summing those two values and by dividing the result by two, we got the average educational level for each state. The third parameter was the religion since it’s one of the crucial distinctive factors between people. The number of religious denominations for each country was calculated using the data from the Pew Research Center. Finally, we compared and overlapped those three rankings. The result was the list below that is ranked according to “diversity index” that we calculated for each state. Even though some suggestions showed that most geographically diverse states would be a better indicator of diversity, we thought it is something that each of us could check in their old Atlas that is probably snoring on the bookshelf. We searched for something more interesting, and the results are great! The list of most diverse states in America in 2017 goes from the least diverse state up to the most diverse one. Let’s begin.

15. Arkansas

Diversity index: 14.6

In Arkansas, 72% of populations are whites, 15% are African-American, 7% Hispanic and 1% American Indian-Alaska natives. Moreover, there is 16.3% of people who are 25 years of age or older without a high school diploma. Percent of people with higher education is nonetheless, 20.1%. Finally, the number of religious denominations in this state is six.

13. Nevada

Diversity index: 11.3

Next on our list of most diverse states in America in 2017 is Nevada. In this state, 52% of the population are whites, which are followed with the Hispanic population with 27%, then African-American with 9% and finally, 8% of the Asian population. Its educational level is quite diverse as well. There is 15.4% of people without high school education and 22.4% of the population who have completed the bachelor’ degree. Besides that, there are 9 religious denominations.

13. North Dakota

Diversity index: 11.3

North Dakota as one of the most diverse states in the USA has 85% of white people, while there is only 3% of the African-Americans and 4% of the Hispanic population. However, there is a difference of 18.1% between highly educated and uneducated people. Only 9.1% are without high school diploma, whereas 27.2% have a bachelor degree. The number of religious denominations is 6.

12. Missouri

Diversity index: 10

Missouri’s diversity index is 10. That means there is 12.4% of people who haven’t finished high school, while at the same time there is 26.2% who have completed bachelor’s degree. Nevertheless, as the diversity index also represents the difference in races, the statistic is following – there is 79% of whites, 11% of African-Americans, 4% of Hispanics and 2% of Asian people. Last but not least, the number of denominations is 7.

11. California

Diversity index: 9.6

California’s difference in education level is 11.9%. There is 18.8% of people without high school diploma, and 30.7% of people with higher education that are either 25 or older. If we look at the races, California has 38% of white people, 5% of African- Americans, 39% of Hispanic, 15% of Asians and finally, 1% of American Indians or Alaska natives. Also, there are 14 different religious denominations!

10. Oklahoma

Diversity index: 9.3

Next on the list of most diverse states in America in 2017 is Oklahoma that counts 15.2% of people who don’t have high school diploma, while 28.1% have a bachelor’s degree. Moreover, 64% are whites, 12% are Hispanic, 7% are African-American, and 8% are American Indians or Alaska natives. The number of the denominations in this state is six.

9. Ohio

Diversity index: 9

Ohio’s index of diversity is 9, and the percentage of the population without high school diploma is 11.3%. On the other hand, the population with the bachelor’s degree who are 25 or older is 25.2%. If we look at the race statistics, we could see that the biggest percentage of people in this state are definitely whites with 78%. Then, we have African-Americans with 12%, Hispanic population with 4% and finally Asians with 2%. Moreover, the number of different denominations is 10.

7. Maine

Diversity index: 7.6

Another very diverse state in the USA is Maine. This state has only 8.9% of people without high school diploma. On the other hand, it has 27.9% of people who have bachelor’s degree. Its race diversity is interesting as well. 92% of the population are the whites! Moreover, there is only 1% of African-Americans, and 2% are Hispanic. However, the number of religious denominations is 9 for this state.

7. Montana

Diversity index: 7.6

We are continuing our list of most diverse states in America in 2017 with Montana that is a state where 7.9% of the total population doesn’t have a high school diploma. On the other hand, 28.7% has a bachelor’s degree. In addition, if we talk about race differences the results are the following – there is 89% of whites in this state, 1% of African-Americans and Asians as well, while there is 3% of the Hispanic population. Finally, there are 8 different religious denominations.

6. Kansas

Diversity index: 7.3

This state has 12.5% of people who don’t have high school diploma at the age of 25 or older, while the percentage of people with attained bachelor’s degree is 31.3%. Moreover, Kansas has 74% of white population, 14% of Hispanic, 6% of African-Americans and only 2% of Asians. Also, the number of denominations is among the highest ones (9).

5. Virginia

Diversity index: 6.6

On the 5th place of the most diverse states in America in 2017 is Virginia. Its 6.6 diversity index stands for calculation between the education level of the state’s population, number of their religious denominations and racial diversity. It is measured that 6.4% of people haven’t gained their high school diploma, whereas 32.9% have the bachelor’s degree. Moreover, there is 61% of people who are white, 18% who are African-American, 11% of Hispanic and 7% Asian. Lastly, there are 10 different denominations.

4. Alaska

Diversity index: 4.6

Alaska has 8.4% of people who are without high school diploma and 27.5% of people who have obtained a bachelor degree diploma. Moreover, in Alaska the biggest percentage of people are whites with 60%, 7% are Hispanic, 5% are Asian, and lastly, 3% are African-American. In addition, it has 9 different denominations.

3. Oregon

Diversity index: 4

On the third place on our list of the most diverse states in America in 2017 is Oregon. It has 75% of whites, 14% of Hispanics, 4% of Asians and finally, 2% of African-American people. Oregon has 10.6% of people without high school diploma who are 25 years of age or older and 29.7% of people with obtained bachelor’s degree. Moreover, it has 11 different religious denominations!

2. Hawaii

Diversity index: 3.6

We mentioned Hawaii previously in the introduction part, and now, we would like to elaborate why it’s on our list of most diverse states in America in 2017. It has 9.6% of people aged 25 or older who haven’t finished high school. Moreover, the percentage of people who have bachelor’s degree is 30.1%. If we look at the racial diversity, we could see that the highest percentage of the population are Asian with 39%. Then, 19% are whites, 10% are Hispanic and 2% are African-Americans. Lastly, it counts 9 different religious denominations.

1. Washington

Diversity index: 3

On the top of our list of most diverse states in America in 2017 is, nonetheless the state of Washington! The diversity index for Washington is 3. It has 11.6% of uneducated people who haven’t finished high school, and 52.4% of people with the bachelor’s degree, which is a big difference! Moreover, 66% of the population in this state are whites, 14% are Hispanic, 10% are Asian, and only 3% are African-Americans. Finally, the number of religious denominations in this country is 11.