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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 Rhode Island 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 8 cities in Rhode Island from most to least diverse.
Here are the 10 most diverse places in Rhode Island for 2022:
So what city is the most diverse in Rhode Island? According to the most Census data, Pawtucket took the number one over all spot for diversity in Rhode Island.
Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. To see where Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island For 2022
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Methodology: How we determined the most diverse cities in Rhode Island for 2022
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 Rhode Island.
That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2016-2020 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 19,000 people. That left us with 8 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 3,186 (Pawtucket) to 7,506 (Warwick).
Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Pawtucket took the distinction of being the most diverse, while Warwick was the least diverse city. You can download the data here.
Read on for more information on how the cities in Rhode Island 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.
Summary: Diversity Across Rhode Island
If you're looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across Rhode Island, this is an accurate list.
If you're curious enough, here are the least diverse places in Rhode Island:
- Warwick
- East Providence
- Newport
For more Rhode Island reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Rhode Island
- Cheapest Places To Live In Rhode Island
- Most Dangerous Cities In Rhode Island
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Rhode Island
- Safest Places In Rhode Island
- Worst Places To Live In Rhode Island
Detailed List Of Race By City In Rhode Island For 2022
| Rank | City | HHI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pawtucket, RI | 3,186 |
| 2 | Providence, RI | 3,254 |
| 3 | Woonsocket, RI | 4,171 |
| 4 | Cranston, RI | 4,912 |
| 5 | Central Falls, RI | 5,283 |
| 6 | Newport, RI | 6,106 |
| 7 | East Providence, RI | 6,417 |
| 8 | Warwick, RI | 7,506 |
