RANKING · 1990 CENSUS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Least racially diverse, US states · 1990

US states with the lowest CensusEasy Diversity Score, where most residents share the same race or ethnicity (1990 ACS). Vermont leads at 5. 51 states qualify in total. The median across all 51 is 37.

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SAME RANKING BYCities Counties Metros ZIP codes

YEAR1990 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPDIVERSITY SCOREVS –

USUnited States248,709,87347–

01Vermont, VTVT647,1065–

02Maine, MEME1,387,8175–

03New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,8687–

04Iowa, IAIA3,210,50710–

05West Virginia, WVWV1,778,37310–

06North Dakota, NDND784,84114–

07Minnesota, MNMN5,739,44515–

08Nebraska, NENE1,978,70718–

09Idaho, IDID1,934,26218–

10Montana, MTMT1,116,87519–

11Kentucky, KYKY4,534,82419–

12Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,87220–

13South Dakota, SDSD907,42820–

14Utah, UTUT3,392,33120–

15Wyoming, WYWY582,39721–

16Oregon, OROR4,254,29322–

17Indiana, ININ6,851,07324–

18Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,80124–

19Kansas, KSKS2,947,19726–

20Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,63928–

21Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,05628–

22Ohio, OHOH11,810,29329–

23Missouri, MOMO6,191,81429–

24Washington, WAWA7,816,11630–

25Connecticut, CTCT3,624,50835–

26Tennessee, TNTN7,066,38337–

27Arkansas, ARAR3,049,39137–

28Michigan, MIMI10,077,76138–

29Colorado, COCO5,862,18941–

30Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,63441–

31Delaware, DEDE1,021,19143–

32Nevada, NVNV3,184,61245–

33Virginia, VAVA8,705,17048–

34North Carolina, NCNC10,730,40449–

35Alabama, ALAL5,086,76850–

36Illinois, ILIL12,694,79851–

37New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,80953–

38Alaska, AKAK735,70653–

39Florida, FLFL22,416,07754–

40Georgia, GAGA10,940,40754–

41South Carolina, SCSC5,296,22555–

42Arizona, AZAZ7,378,83856–

43Maryland, MDMD6,206,01157–

44Louisiana, LALA4,611,96159–

45Mississippi, MSMS2,946,77959–

46New York, NYNY19,852,36660–

47District of Columbia, DCDC681,29462–

48Texas, TXTX30,188,42469–

49Hawaii, HIHI1,445,23569–

50New Mexico, NMNM2,120,24674–

51California, CACA39,287,37774–

SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

Download CSV (full list, 51 rows)How this score is calculated

UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS

Frequently asked

Which state has the lowest diversity score?

Vermont ranks #1 with 5 (1990 Decennial Census).

What are the top 5 states by diversity score?

Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Iowa, West Virginia.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 1990 Decennial Census data.

How is diversity score measured?

CensusEasy Diversity Score (0 to 100): the chance that two random residents are of a different race or ethnicity, rescaled so 100 is a perfectly even split across all five groups. A Simpson diversity index over the five ACS race and ethnicity shares. Source: US Census Bureau, 1990 Decennial Census.