US Census Defined Racial Diversity Index: 2000-2010 changes (best, state, places)

[Lifeshadower]

Many of you guys are familiar with this thread that I posted roughly a year ago: https://www.city-data.com/forum/city-...ng-2008-a.html

The index determined the US Census defined racial index, which basically states "what are the chances that any two people in a given are will be of two different races?" I got the idea to do something like this from a US Census 2000 report which did it on a county-by-county level.

Of course, it's not without contention, since there are major differences within different groups within the 8 major groups (IE: huge differences between Greek and Irish, or between Ethiopian and Haitian, or between Asian Indian and Korean, etc.) however it does serve as somewhat of an indicator of how diverse an area is.

*NOTE: This doesn't calculate something like integration. I'll do a thread on that sometime later in the summer when I have a few DAYS to kill, which is be hard to find nowadays.

The unit of analysis here is the Combined Statistical Area (or MSA where CSA's aren't available), and I analyze 5 groups: Non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Two or More Races. You could break this up further (especially in the case of two or more races), or add more groups (like Native Americans), but in the interest of my own time, I decided to stick with these five.

For the 2000 census, the US census released a diversity index (http://www.census.gov/population/cen...ensr01-104.pdf (broken link)) calculating the statistical diversity of each county in the United States based on the 8 broad ethno-racial demographic groups seen in the census. If you look on the 4th page of the link above, the census demographers use simple mathematics to determine how they got the index to begin with:

1) Square the percentage of each group analyzed
2) Subtract that number from 1.00 (total diversity)

The range of diversity is from .00 (no diversity at all) to 1.00 (total diversity). For the sake of making our lives easier, I will only analyze five statistically significant groups: i) White Non-Hispanics ii) Black Non-Hispanics iii) Hispanics iv) Asian Non-Hispanics v)Two or more races

If you want to calculate it based on diversity within groups (like Italian Americans, Irish Americans, Indian Americans, etc.), just add those percentages based on the American Community Survey Link above and do the same thing.

Anyways, here are the 11 areas I will look at: Table of United States primary census statistical areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA CSA
3 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI CSA
4 Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA
5 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH CSA
6 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
7 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX CSA
8 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
9 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX CSA
10 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL CSA
11 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA

2000 Data: Quick Tables - American FactFinder
2010 Data: American FactFinder

US Census 2000 Diversity Index

1. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
56.4% Non-Hispanic White
17.2% Black
18.4% Hispanic
6.8% Asian and Pacific Islander
3.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index: .612

2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA CSA
40.3% Hispanic
39.0% Non-Hispanic White
10.7% Asian and Pacific Islander
7.6% Black
4.7% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.661

3. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI CSA
59.4% Non-Hispanic White
18.6% Black
16.4% Hispanic
4.2% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.2% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.584

4. Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA
60.1% Non-Hispanic White
26.2% Black
6.4% Hispanic
5.4% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.563

5. Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH CSA
82.5% Non-Hispanic White
6.2% Hispanic
5.1% Black
4.0% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.2% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.311

6. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
50.6% Non-Hispanic White
19.7% Hispanic
18.9% Asian and Pacific Islander
7.3% Black
4.9% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.662

7. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX CSA
59.3% Non-Hispanic White
21.5% Hispanic
13.8% Black
3.8% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.581

8. Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
70.4% Non-Hispanic White
19.6% Black
5.6% Hispanic
3.2% Asian and Pacific Islander
1.7% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.462

9. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX CSA
48.0% Non-Hispanic White
28.9% Hispanic
16.9% Black
5.0% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.7% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.655

10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL CSA
59.8% Non-Hispanic White
28.9% Black
6.5% Hispanic
3.3% Asian
1.7% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.554

11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA
40.3% Hispanic
36.3% Non-Hispanic White
20.4% Black
3.6% Two or More Races
1.8% Asian and Pacific Islander
Diversity Index:.663

US Census 2010 Diversity Index

1. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
51.7% Non-Hispanic White
21.7% Hispanic
15.3% Black
9.0% Asian and Pacific Islander
3.2% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.653

2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA CSA
44.9% Hispanic
33.6% Non-Hispanic White
12.3% Asian and Pacific Islander
6.6 Black
4.5% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.664

3. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI CSA
55.5% Non-Hispanic White
20.4% Hispanic
17.0% Black
5.5% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.618

4. Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV CSA
53.2% Non-Hispanic White
25.7% Black
10.6% Hispanic
7.6% Asian and Pacific Islander
3.3% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.633

5. Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH CSA
77.7% Non-Hispanic White
8.9% Hispanic
5.4% Black
5.0% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.6% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.382

6. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
43.0% Non-Hispanic White
24.1% Hispanic
22.8% Asian and Pacific Islander
6.2% Black
5.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.699

7. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX CSA
51.9% Non-Hispanic White
26.7% Hispanic
14.2% Black
5.2% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.8% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.636

8. Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
65.4% Non-Hispanic White
19.1% Black
8.8% Hispanic
4.6% Asian and Pacific Islander
2.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.525

9. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX CSA
40.0% Non-Hispanic White
35.1% Hispanic
16.8% Black
6.4% Asian and Pacific Islander
3.0% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.684

10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL CSA
51.5% Non-Hispanic White
31.0% Black
10.7% Hispanic
4.6% Asian
2.4% Two or More Races
Diversity Index:.625

11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA
41.6% Hispanic
34.8% Non-Hispanic White
19.7% Black
2.5% Two or More Races
2.2% Asian and Pacific Islander
Diversity Index:.666


2000 Index Rank
1. Miami MSA: 66.3
2. Bay Area CSA: 66.2
3. Los Angeles CSA: 66.1
4. Houston CSA: 65.5
5. New York CSA: 61.2
6. Chicago CSA: 58.4
7. DFW CSA: 58.1
8. Washington DC CSA: 56.3
9. Atlanta CSA: 55.4
10. Philadelphia CSA: 46.2
11. Boston CSA: 31.1

2010 Index Rank
1. Bay Area CSA: 69.9
2. Houston CSA: 68.4
3. Miami MSA: 66.6
4. Los Angeles CSA: 66.4
5. New York CSA: 65.3
6. DFW CSA: 63.6
7. Washington DC CSA: 63.3
8. Atlanta CSA: 62.5
9. Chicago CSA: 61.8
10. Philadelphia CSA: 52.5
11. Boston CSA: 38.2

Score change 2000-2010
1 tied) Atlanta CSA: 7.1
1 tied) Boston CSA: 7.1
3) Washington DC CSA: 7.0
4) Philadelphia CSA: 6.3
5) DFW CSA: 5.5
6) New York CSA: 4.1
7) Bay Area CSA: 3.7
8) Chicago CSA: 3.4
9) Houston CSA: 2.9
10) Los Angeles CSA: .2
11) Miami MSA: .1

[bballniket]

Nice data and prelude to the data, as usual man. I wasn't able to access the link; are the squared percentages added together and then the sum of squared percentages is subtracted from 1 to get the index of racial diversity?

[The Nostalgia Critic]

They define racial diversity as places that have few Whites. The fewer the percentage of Whites, the higher the index.

[adavi215]

Great thread. I'll have to use the link to analyze the New South metros and other mid-sized cities.

[bballniket]

They define racial diversity as places that have few Whites. The fewer the percentage of Whites, the higher the index.

Nah, I'm pretty sure that this is not the case. It's a very specific index that uses a very specific formula that takes into account percentages of all of the 7 racial groups (non-hispanic white, non-hispanic black, non-hispanic Asian, non-hispanic Pacific Islander, non-hispanic Native American/Alaskan, Hispanic or Latino of any race, two or more races (incl. Hispanic or Latino of any race as a race)). A town that's 100% of any race would be the least diverse and one that is 1/7th of each race would be the most diverse.

Qualitatively, I believe the formula reveals the percentage chance that two individuals residing in any particular geographic al rea selected at random would be of different races.

[Thomas R.]

Yeah Los Angeles would be higher than the Bay Area if they were simply going by "lowest percent of non-Hispanic whites."

[BigCityDreamer]

I disagree with the rankings. I don't consider metro areas where non-Hispanic whites are out-numbered by minorities as being diverse. Those are simply majority minority metro areas.

[SouthmoreAve]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

I disagree with the rankings. I don't consider metro areas where non-Hispanic whites are out-numbered by minorities as being diverse. Those are simply majority minority metro areas.

You disagree with their rankings; their methodology and calculations is readily evident at your disposal, what seems faulty with their data? The rankings are purely quantatative and nothing but based on facts and figures.

Wether that translates to one person's own personal definition of diversity is up to you, but I take it that you have more of a problem with a certain area not being as high as you subjectively think it should be, and no one can fix that. See you disagree that their way of ranking diversity makes one city not seem as diverse as others, and well, frankly based on numbers it't not, and so what, this, like any ranking isn't going to forever change the order of perception on C-D.

I'm not about to go all Houston-homer and start imploding threads with "Houston is the second most diverse metro!!!". But this is probably the best numbers-based GENERAL ranking of diversity that you will find. (I mean they didn't go all specific in terms of the different nationalities, but hey, anybody can give it a try if they want to)

[waronxmas]

Not all surprised at the order. I am also not surprised, though it is worth pointing out, how much Boston deviates from the rest of the cities.

The top 10 are all within a few percentage points of each other, so chest bumping about "my city is far more diverse than yours" is a bit silly. Then there is Boston half as diverse as the rest of the top cities. That's just not a fluke or a minor deviation.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer

I disagree with the rankings. I don't consider metro areas where non-Hispanic whites are out-numbered by minorities as being diverse. Those are simply majority minority metro areas.

Why is that?