State rankings

Least Diverse States in the US

California ranks 1st on Cultural Diversity in 2025, followed by Nevada (2nd) and New Jersey (3rd); rank 1 is the best. West Virginia ranks last (50th).

Culture50 states · 7 metricsUpdated May 27, 2023Original page
50 of 51 states
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Cultural Diversity, 2025

Green is better, red is worse (rank 1 is the best). Click a place to highlight it.

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All 50 ranked

Best first; rank 1 is the best and has the longest bar.

Biggest changes · 2023 → 2025

50 states have a value in both years; rank 1 is the best.

Climbed

Fell

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

50 states · # = rank by Cultural Diversity
#
1California1st14th7th
2Nevada2nd30th1st
3New Jersey3rd42nd37th
4Florida4th33rd8th
5Hawaii5th5th14th
6Texas6th13th29th
7New Mexico7th4th2nd
8New York8th44th4th
9Maryland9th26th17th
10Arizona10th25th6th
11Georgia11th21st16th
12Virginia12th23rd36th
13Illinois13th39th18th
14Connecticut14th48th27th
15Washington15th24th30th
16Alaska16th1st21st
17Delaware17th36th32nd
18Massachusetts18th50th15th
19Colorado19th35th35th
20Rhode Island20th47th5th
21North Carolina21st31st33rd
22Oklahoma22nd6th12th
23South Carolina23rd16th34th
24Oregon24th27th10th
25Louisiana25th12th3rd
26Arkansas26th15th22nd
27Kansas27th19th43rd
28Utah28th29th50th
29Tennessee29th20th26th
30Alabama30th11th31st
31Mississippi31st8th9th
32Pennsylvania32nd49th24th
33Nebraska33rd18th46th
34Minnesota34th45th41st
35Idaho35th7th49th
36Michigan36th46th20th
37Indiana37th43rd19th
38Missouri38th34th23rd
39Wyoming39th2nd48th
40Ohio40th40th11th
41Wisconsin41st38th39th
42South Dakota42nd9th42nd
43North Dakota43rd10th45th
44Iowa44th22nd40th
45Kentucky45th28th13th
46Montana46th3rd44th
47New Hampshire47th41st47th
48Vermont48th37th28th
49Maine49th32nd38th
50West Virginia50th17th25th

What correlates with Cultural Diversity (2025)?

Pearson r against 2,107 other state metrics sharing at least 30 states, 1 near-identical series hidden. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that rank better on Cultural Diversity tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Total Diversity ScoreMost Diverse US States
    r = −0.97 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  2. Racial & Ethnic DiversityMost Diverse US StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.96 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  3. Linguistic DiversityMost Diverse US StatesA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = +0.89 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  4. % Non-CitizenVoter Turnout by State
    r = −0.87 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  5. Mean Hourly WageOT Salary by State
    r = −0.83 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  6. Mean Annual WageOT Salary by State
    r = −0.83 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that rank better on Cultural Diversity tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. OpportunityBest States to Live InA rank: rank 1 is the best
    r = −0.84 · very strong · n = 49
    Plot
  2. Rural PopulationMost Rural States in the U.S.
    r = +0.79 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  3. Opportunity RankWorst States to Live inA rank: rank 1 is the worst
    r = +0.76 · very strong · n = 50
    Plot
  4. % of Households Who Own CatsPet Ownership Statistics by State
    r = +0.67 · strong · n = 48
    Plot
  5. Skin Cancer Death RatesSkin Cancer Rates by State
    r = +0.66 · strong · n = 48
    Plot
  6. Overall ScorePension-Friendly States
    r = +0.65 · strong · n = 49
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state ranks first on Cultural Diversity?
California ranks first on Cultural Diversity in 2025, at 1st, followed by Nevada (2nd) and New Jersey (3rd). Rank 1 is the best state.
Which state ranks last on Cultural Diversity?
West Virginia ranks last of the 50 US states with data in 2025, at 50th.
Where does this least diverse states in the us data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review.