The 10 Most Diverse Cities In Mississippi For 2021


We used data and science to determine the most diverse cities in Mississippi.

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Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2021. This is our seventh time ranking the most diverse places in Mississippi.


Most Diverse Cities In Mississippi

Article continues below.

Race relations in America seem to be hitting a tipping point.

While we still haven't dealt with racism as a society, the election of Donald Trump to the presidency has only flamed the tensions that have been mounting for years.

Part of the reason for that tension? The country as a whole continues to self segregate across race, income, and party lines. But it's not all bad on the race relations front.

There are parts of Mississippi where there's a high level of diversity -- where people of all walks of life come together. We decided to shine a light on those places today.

Using a standard measure of diversity, we ranked all 63 cities in Mississippi from most to least diverse.

Here are the 10 most diverse places in Mississippi for 2021:

  1. Forest
  2. Ripley
  3. Pascagoula
  4. D'Iberville
  5. Gautier
  6. Philadelphia
  7. Horn Lake
  8. Clinton
  9. Ridgeland
  10. Gulfport

So what city is the most diverse in Mississippi? According to the most Census data, Forest took the number one over all spot for diversity in Mississippi.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. To see where Mississippi ranked as a state, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in Ameria.

And if you already knew these places were diverse, check out:

The 10 Most Diverse Places In Mississippi For 2021

Forest, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,629

HHI: 3,428
% White: 25.4%
% African American: 42.4%
% Asian: 0.8%
More on Forest: PhotosData

Ripley, MS

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,290

HHI: 3,505
% White: 45.2%
% African American: 33.4%
% Asian: 0.2%
More on Ripley: PhotosData

Pascagoula, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 21,809

HHI: 3,835
% White: 49.5%
% African American: 34.9%
% Asian: 0.5%
More on Pascagoula: PhotosData

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 13,673

HHI: 3,869
% White: 55.2%
% African American: 26.6%
% Asian: 9.7%
More on D'iberville: PhotosData

Gautier, MS

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 18,496

HHI: 4,090
% White: 55.4%
% African American: 29.9%
% Asian: 3.0%
More on Gautier: PhotosData

Philadelphia, MS

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 7,218

HHI: 4,092
% White: 42.3%
% African American: 47.5%
% Asian: 0.6%
More on Philadelphia: PhotosData

Horn Lake, MS

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 27,080

HHI: 4,118
% White: 45.5%
% African American: 44.7%
% Asian: 1.0%
More on Horn Lake: PhotosData

Clinton, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 25,131

HHI: 4,137
% White: 51.7%
% African American: 37.7%
% Asian: 4.7%
More on Clinton: PhotosData

Ridgeland, MS

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 24,269

HHI: 4,177
% White: 52.5%
% African American: 37.1%
% Asian: 3.5%
More on Ridgeland: PhotosData

Gulfport, MS

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 71,676

HHI: 4,180
% White: 52.3%
% African American: 37.5%
% Asian: 1.3%
More on Gulfport: PhotosData

How we determined the most diverse cities in Mississippi for 2021

We still believe in the accuracy of data -- especially from the census. So that's where we went to get the breakdown of race across Mississippi.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2015-2019 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
* Not hispanic or latino

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 63 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 3,428 (Forest) to 8,477 (Diamondhead).

Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Forest took the distinction of being the most diverse, while Diamondhead was the least diverse city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Mississippi ranked for diversity or, for a more general take on diversity in america, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

There You Have It - Diversity Across Mississippi

If you're looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across Mississippi, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the least diverse places in Mississippi:

  1. Diamondhead
  2. Yazoo City
  3. Saltillo

For more Mississippi reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Most Diverse Cities In Mississippi For 2021

Rank City Population HHI
1 Forest, MS 5,629 3,428
2 Ripley, MS 5,290 3,505
3 Pascagoula, MS 21,809 3,835
4 D'iberville, MS 13,673 3,869
5 Gautier, MS 18,496 4,090
6 Philadelphia, MS 7,218 4,092
7 Horn Lake, MS 27,080 4,118
8 Clinton, MS 25,131 4,137
9 Ridgeland, MS 24,269 4,177
10 Gulfport, MS 71,676 4,180
11 New Albany, MS 8,705 4,278
12 Pontotoc, MS 6,015 4,320
13 Batesville, MS 7,245 4,387
14 Pass Christian, MS 5,877 4,447
15 Hattiesburg, MS 46,098 4,466
16 Biloxi, MS 45,906 4,486
17 Flowood, MS 9,030 4,504
18 Olive Branch, MS 37,461 4,513
19 Starkville, MS 25,387 4,515
20 Picayune, MS 11,040 4,520
21 Tupelo, MS 38,271 4,521
22 Cleveland, MS 11,627 4,528
23 Columbia, MS 5,992 4,678
24 Southaven, MS 54,152 4,700
25 Senatobia, MS 7,840 4,768
26 Richland, MS 7,175 4,788
27 Kosciusko, MS 6,855 4,828
28 Louisville, MS 6,124 4,935
29 Laurel, MS 18,508 4,977
30 Grenada, MS 12,475 4,998
31 Meridian, MS 37,848 5,053
32 Columbus, MS 24,083 5,075
33 Brookhaven, MS 12,115 5,077
34 Natchez, MS 14,981 5,154
35 West Point, MS 10,626 5,254
36 Corinth, MS 14,562 5,280
37 Pearl, MS 26,461 5,302
38 Oxford, MS 26,962 5,351
39 Vicksburg, MS 22,332 5,362
40 Amory, MS 6,932 5,414
41 Moss Point, MS 13,451 5,463
42 Canton, MS 12,222 5,616
43 Byram, MS 11,578 5,663
44 Bay St. Louis, MS 13,018 5,747
45 Aberdeen, MS 5,326 5,895
46 Greenwood, MS 14,040 5,965
47 Booneville, MS 8,637 6,046
48 Brandon, MS 23,930 6,233
49 Petal, MS 10,584 6,304
50 Ocean Springs, MS 17,729 6,320
51 Mccomb, MS 12,725 6,490
52 Long Beach, MS 15,698 6,666
53 Madison, MS 25,592 6,711
54 Waveland, MS 6,336 6,736
55 Holly Springs, MS 7,737 6,805
56 Hernando, MS 15,942 6,861
57 Greenville, MS 30,588 6,918
58 Indianola, MS 9,450 6,957
59 Jackson, MS 166,383 6,966
60 Clarksdale, MS 15,734 6,974
61 Saltillo, MS 5,009 7,056
62 Yazoo City, MS 11,063 7,419
63 Diamondhead, MS 8,103 8,477

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About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.