Racial diversity in Kansas is a mixed bag.
There are parts of Kansas where there’s a high level of diversity. But where will you find the most diverse places in Kansas?
To answer that question, we went to the US Census data. Using Saturday Night Science, we measured the Gini coefficient for all 64 cities in Kansas to rank them from most to least diverse.
#1 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Wyandotte County, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas, the county seat of Wyandotte County, and the third-largest city of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Kansas City, Kansas is abbreviated as “KCK” to differentiate it from Kansas City, Missouri. It is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the “Unified Government”. Wyandotte County also includes the independent cities of Bonner Springs and Edwardsville. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 145,786 residents. It is situated at Kaw Point, which is the junction of the Missouri and Kansas rivers.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most diverse in Kansas
Junction City is a city and county seat of Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 23,353. Fort Riley, a major U.S. Army post, is nearby.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area whose estimated population in 2015 was 644,610. As of 2016, the city of Wichita had an estimated population of 389,902.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 most diverse in Kansas
Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,658. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological park in western Kansas.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Montgomery County, Kansas
Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state’s southeastern region. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295. It is the most populous city of Montgomery County and with its southeast Kansas location is located in the Tulsa, Oklahoma media market. The town of South Coffeyville, Oklahoma is located approximately 1 mile south of the city, existing as a separate political entity immediately south of the state line.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Shawnee County, Kansas
Topeka is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 127,473. The Topeka Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, and Wabaunsee counties, had a population of 233,870 in the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Lyon County, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike. Emporia is also a college town, home to Emporia State University and Flint Hills Technical College.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Bel Aire is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,769.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Cowley County, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most diverse in Kansas
Located in
Leavenworth County, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city in and the county seat of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 35,251. Located on the west bank of the Missouri River 25mi northwest of Kansas City, Missouri, it is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Kansas’s statewide median.
On the map
Where diversity lives in Kansas
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most diverse cities in Kansas for 2026
We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census — and Saturday Night Science. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Kansas.
That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2020-2024 American Community Survey data from the US Census.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
- Hispanic or Latino
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 64 cities.
We then calculated the HHI for each city by finding the racial breakdown of a city in percent terms, squaring them, and then adding the squares together. This left us with scores ranging from 2,833 (Kansas City) to 9,178 (Louisburg).
Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI, with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Kansas City took the distinction of being the most diverse, while Louisburg was the least diverse city.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most diverse places in Kansas.
The full plate
Race By City In Kansas For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | HHI | % White | % Black | % Hispanic | % Asian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas City | 155,135 | 2,833 | 33.7% | 19.2% | 35.7% | 5.3% |
| 2 | Junction City | 22,331 | 3,493 | 53.2% | 15.9% | 17.2% | 2.6% |
| 3 | Wichita | 397,945 | 4,048 | 59.5% | 9.3% | 19.0% | 4.9% |
| 4 | Garden City | 27,819 | 4,183 | 31.9% | 5.9% | 55.7% | 4.9% |
| 5 | Coffeyville | 8,662 | 4,198 | 60.7% | 10.2% | 17.4% | 0.1% |
| 6 | Topeka | 125,786 | 4,645 | 65.1% | 8.5% | 16.9% | 1.5% |
| 7 | Emporia | 24,131 | 4,674 | 61.2% | 1.8% | 30.0% | 2.2% |
| 8 | Bel Aire | 9,043 | 4,842 | 67.3% | 11.3% | 12.3% | 4.0% |
| 9 | Arkansas City | 11,884 | 4,897 | 66.3% | 3.7% | 20.8% | 0.5% |
| 10 | Leavenworth | 37,195 | 5,128 | 69.7% | 11.5% | 9.1% | 2.1% |
| 11 | Ulysses | 5,476 | 5,154 | 33.1% | 0.2% | 63.7% | 0.0% |
| 12 | Lansing | 11,246 | 5,158 | 70.1% | 9.6% | 7.1% | 1.4% |
| 13 | Dodge City | 27,613 | 5,222 | 27.1% | 2.9% | 66.9% | 1.1% |
| 14 | Liberal | 19,316 | 5,320 | 23.0% | 3.2% | 69.1% | 2.6% |
| 15 | Olathe | 145,057 | 5,469 | 72.4% | 5.3% | 12.6% | 4.3% |
| 16 | Lawrence | 96,051 | 5,506 | 73.0% | 4.8% | 7.9% | 5.1% |
| 17 | Bonner Springs | 7,839 | 5,533 | 72.9% | 2.8% | 11.6% | 5.7% |
| 18 | Gardner | 24,526 | 5,554 | 72.7% | 6.5% | 13.8% | 0.9% |
| 19 | Great Bend | 14,479 | 5,556 | 70.2% | 0.5% | 24.9% | 0.3% |
| 20 | Overland Park | 200,306 | 5,590 | 73.5% | 4.9% | 8.5% | 9.0% |
| 21 | Lenexa | 58,384 | 5,697 | 74.3% | 7.2% | 9.5% | 4.1% |
| 22 | Manhattan | 54,239 | 5,824 | 75.3% | 5.0% | 8.4% | 4.6% |
| 23 | Pittsburg | 20,637 | 5,999 | 76.1% | 2.5% | 12.7% | 2.8% |
| 24 | Newton | 18,397 | 6,010 | 75.0% | 1.7% | 19.4% | 0.2% |
| 25 | Salina | 46,307 | 6,025 | 76.2% | 3.8% | 13.8% | 1.8% |
| 26 | Merriam | 11,085 | 6,028 | 76.4% | 7.4% | 10.8% | 1.7% |
| 27 | Roeland Park | 6,763 | 6,064 | 75.9% | 1.6% | 16.4% | 1.1% |
| 28 | Shawnee | 68,542 | 6,168 | 77.6% | 6.0% | 9.6% | 2.8% |
| 29 | Hutchinson | 39,709 | 6,274 | 77.9% | 3.9% | 13.0% | 0.6% |
| 30 | Derby | 26,062 | 6,336 | 78.4% | 1.3% | 12.9% | 1.0% |
| 31 | Wellington | 7,615 | 6,439 | 79.3% | 2.1% | 9.8% | 0.3% |
| 32 | Park City | 7,673 | 6,505 | 80.0% | 5.5% | 5.7% | 3.0% |
| 33 | Winfield | 11,711 | 6,616 | 80.7% | 3.0% | 7.9% | 3.0% |
| 34 | Andover | 15,965 | 6,715 | 81.3% | 1.7% | 8.0% | 4.5% |
| 35 | Haysville | 11,117 | 6,765 | 81.7% | 1.3% | 7.8% | 0.6% |
| 36 | Parsons | 9,425 | 6,790 | 81.8% | 4.9% | 5.7% | 0.0% |
| 37 | Pratt | 6,577 | 6,802 | 81.6% | 0.8% | 9.9% | 0.3% |
| 38 | De Soto | 6,414 | 6,809 | 82.0% | 2.2% | 6.9% | 1.8% |
| 39 | Mission | 9,915 | 6,828 | 82.1% | 3.5% | 6.2% | 4.3% |
| 40 | Independence | 8,422 | 6,888 | 82.4% | 1.9% | 8.1% | 0.0% |
| 41 | Atchison | 10,785 | 6,955 | 82.9% | 5.3% | 5.0% | 0.4% |
| 42 | Tonganoxie | 5,891 | 6,964 | 82.8% | 0.0% | 5.8% | 1.9% |
| 43 | Maize | 6,824 | 6,992 | 82.2% | 1.1% | 15.0% | 0.0% |
| 44 | Goddard | 6,030 | 7,159 | 83.7% | 1.3% | 12.0% | 0.6% |
| 45 | Concordia | 5,015 | 7,269 | 84.8% | 1.4% | 6.3% | 0.2% |
| 46 | Iola | 5,348 | 7,320 | 85.1% | 6.4% | 4.2% | 0.4% |
| 47 | Colby | 5,387 | 7,360 | 85.2% | 0.6% | 9.1% | 0.0% |
| 48 | McPherson | 13,995 | 7,380 | 85.5% | 2.4% | 7.2% | 0.8% |
| 49 | Chanute | 8,598 | 7,392 | 85.5% | 1.7% | 8.4% | 0.7% |
| 50 | Basehor | 7,491 | 7,465 | 85.8% | 0.8% | 9.9% | 0.5% |
| 51 | El Dorado | 12,769 | 7,484 | 86.1% | 1.0% | 6.0% | 1.4% |
| 52 | Hays | 21,143 | 7,489 | 86.1% | 1.3% | 7.4% | 1.9% |
| 53 | Leawood | 33,809 | 7,591 | 86.8% | 1.5% | 3.5% | 5.7% |
| 54 | Valley Center | 8,590 | 7,615 | 86.9% | 0.6% | 6.1% | 1.2% |
| 55 | Ottawa | 12,678 | 7,634 | 87.1% | 1.7% | 5.4% | 0.9% |
| 56 | Eudora | 6,119 | 7,655 | 87.0% | 0.4% | 8.0% | 0.0% |
| 57 | Fort Scott | 7,555 | 7,747 | 87.7% | 2.6% | 3.5% | 0.2% |
| 58 | Spring Hill | 9,120 | 7,791 | 88.0% | 0.2% | 5.7% | 1.9% |
| 59 | Abilene | 6,449 | 7,931 | 88.7% | 0.2% | 4.9% | 0.0% |
| 60 | Prairie Village | 22,874 | 7,948 | 88.9% | 0.4% | 4.7% | 1.6% |
| 61 | Mulvane | 6,171 | 8,026 | 89.3% | 0.9% | 3.6% | 0.0% |
| 62 | Augusta | 9,216 | 8,300 | 90.9% | 0.1% | 5.1% | 0.2% |
| 63 | Paola | 5,770 | 8,857 | 94.1% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 0.4% |
| 64 | Louisburg | 5,094 | 9,178 | 95.8% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 64 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Diversity Across Kansas
If you’re looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across Kansas, this is an accurate list.
The most diverse cities in Kansas are Kansas City, Junction City, Wichita, Garden City, Coffeyville, Topeka, Emporia, Bel Aire, Arkansas City, and Leavenworth.
