Diversity in Indiana? Not so much, survey says

It's no secret the U.S. is rapidly growing more diverse.

By the year 2044, we'll be a majority-minority nation, according to the U.S. Census. At that point, more than half of the population will be made up of people from what are now considered social, ethnic or racial minorities (instead of people identifying as single-race, non-Hispanic white). 

By the time the 2020 census is conducted, more than half of the nation's children likely will be part of a minority race or ethnic group. That's expected to rise to about two-third's of U.S. children by 2060.

Indiana is not in the forefront of that movement, however.

A new study by WalletHub based on census data shows Indiana is one of the 10 least-diverse states. Indianapolis ranks slightly higher, compared to other U.S. cities, but not by much.

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Indiana is No. 42 overall for diversity, WalletHub says, with a score of 60.36 that includes key categories like socioeconomic diversity, cultural diversity and religious diversity. Indianapolis didn't do much better, comparatively, ranking No. 206 with an overall score of 64.92.

Indiana also ranks at the bottom of one of 12 categories: worker-class diversity. But the state does rank No. 6 for occupational diversity, a good sign for our economy.

By comparison, California is ranked No. 1 overall. As for the Midwest, Ohio and Kentucky ranked lower than Indiana for diversity, but three other adjacent states did better: Illinois at No. 11, Michigan at 36 and Missouri at 37.

Indianapolis fell short of two of its Midwestern peers: Columbus, Ohio, at No. 155 and Louisville, Ky., at No. 185. 

Here's how other Indiana cities rank: Fort Wayne (No. 220); Carmel (384), Fishers (388), Gary (404), Evansville (405), Lafayette (434) and Bloomington (471).

WalletHub’s analysts compared 501 of the most populated cities in the U.S., but limited each state to no more than 10 cities each for the survey. They used the the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index as a general measure of diversity.

Call IndyStar digital producer Dwight Adams at (317) 444-6532. Follow him on Twitter: @hdwightadams.

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