Racial diversity in Washington is a mixed bag.
There are parts of Washington where there’s a high level of diversity. But where will you find the most diverse places in Washington?
To answer that question, we went to the US Census data. Using Saturday Night Science, we measured the Gini coefficient for all 122 cities in Washington to rank them from most to least diverse.
#1 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Tukwila is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States. The northern edge of Tukwila borders the city of Seattle. The population was 19,107 at the 2010 census. The population was 20,018 at the 2015 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. The City of Tukwila is a community of communities: residents of many diverse origins make Tukwila their home, a large commercial center draws workers and consumers to the city daily, and industry thrives with the confluence of rivers, freeways, railroads, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
SeaTac or Seatac is a city in southern King County, Washington, United States, and an outlying suburb of Seattle, Washington. The name SeaTac is a combination of the first syllables of Seattle and Tacoma.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most diverse in Washington
Located in
Pierce County, Washington
Fife is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States and a suburb of Tacoma. The population was 9,173 at the 2010 census. The population was 9,970 at 2015 Estimate from Office of Financial Management.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a coastal city inside the Seattle metropolitan area. Its southwestern boundary is NE Tacoma Puget Sound, to the south is the cities of Milton, then Fife, then Tacoma. It is bordered by Des Moines and Kent on the northeast, Auburn as well as the town of Lakeland North and Lakeland South in unincorporated King County on the east, Milton on the south, and Tacoma as well as Fife Heights and Dash Point in unincorporated Pierce County on the southwest. The population was 95,171 at the 2015 United States Census. Federal Way is currently the 9th largest city in Washington State and the 5th largest in King County, according to the Census Bureau’s 2015 population estimate.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States. It is the sixth largest city in the state and third largest in the county. Kent is in the heart of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area, located 19 miles south of Seattle and 19 miles northeast of Tacoma. Incorporated in 1890, it is the second oldest incorporated city in King County, after Seattle. Kent’s population as of April, 2010 was 92,411 according to the 2010 census. The total grew to an estimated 126,952 as of July 1, 2015, owing primarily to annexation.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 miles southeast of downtown Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. While long an important salmon fishing area for Native Americans, Renton was first settled by people of European descent in the 1860s, and its early economy was based on coal mining, clay production, and timber export. Today, Renton is best known as the final assembly point for the Boeing 737 family of commercial airplanes, but it is also home to a growing number of well known manufacturing, technology, and healthcare organizations, including Boeing Commercial Airplanes Division, Paccar, Kaiser Permanente, IKEA, Providence Health & Services, and Wizards of the Coast. As of 2016, the population in Renton is 101,300, up from 90,927 at the 2010 census. Renton currently is the 8th largest city in Washington State, and is the 4th largest in King County. The National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks have a training facility in Renton. It is the second-largest facility in the NFL at 200,000 square feet.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Des Moines is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 29,673 as of the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most diverse in Washington
Located in
Pierce County, Washington
Lakewood is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 58,163 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 most diverse in Washington
Located in
King County, Washington
Burien is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2010 Census, Burien’s population was 33,313, which is a 49.7% increase since incorporation. An annexation in 2010 increased the city’s population to about 50,000.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most diverse in Washington
Located in
Pierce County, Washington
Auburn is a city in King County, with a small portion in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 70,180 at the 2010 United States Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area, currently ranked the fourteenth largest city in the state of Washington.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
On the map
Where diversity lives in Washington
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most diverse cities in Washington 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 Washington.
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 122 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 2,151 (Tukwila) to 8,294 (Toppenish).
Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI, with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Tukwila took the distinction of being the most diverse, while Toppenish was the least diverse city.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most diverse places in Washington.
The full plate
Race By City In Washington For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | HHI | % White | % Black | % Hispanic | % Asian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tukwila | 21,451 | 2,151 | 26.1% | 17.7% | 24.0% | 23.5% |
| 2 | SeaTac | 32,414 | 2,189 | 27.0% | 24.4% | 22.8% | 17.4% |
| 3 | Fife | 10,949 | 2,214 | 37.7% | 13.3% | 15.2% | 15.7% |
| 4 | Federal Way | 99,493 | 2,247 | 34.9% | 17.8% | 20.0% | 15.3% |
| 5 | Kent | 135,603 | 2,396 | 37.0% | 12.7% | 16.6% | 23.0% |
| 6 | Renton | 105,317 | 2,587 | 38.6% | 9.0% | 15.6% | 26.4% |
| 7 | Des Moines | 32,823 | 2,723 | 44.0% | 12.7% | 19.8% | 12.0% |
| 8 | Lakewood | 62,937 | 2,743 | 45.0% | 13.3% | 18.8% | 6.9% |
| 9 | Burien | 51,513 | 2,996 | 45.7% | 7.6% | 24.2% | 15.3% |
| 10 | Auburn | 85,676 | 3,005 | 48.2% | 6.6% | 20.8% | 12.1% |
| 11 | Lynnwood | 40,110 | 3,149 | 49.0% | 10.0% | 15.6% | 19.2% |
| 12 | Newcastle | 12,989 | 3,309 | 37.6% | 3.5% | 4.5% | 42.1% |
| 13 | Pacific | 7,066 | 3,339 | 51.4% | 6.7% | 22.4% | 10.7% |
| 14 | Bellevue | 151,847 | 3,519 | 39.9% | 2.6% | 7.9% | 42.7% |
| 15 | Tacoma | 222,758 | 3,547 | 55.6% | 9.3% | 13.8% | 9.4% |
| 16 | Airway Heights | 11,245 | 3,643 | 57.6% | 6.0% | 11.5% | 4.3% |
| 17 | Redmond | 77,353 | 3,701 | 44.8% | 2.2% | 6.7% | 40.2% |
| 18 | DuPont | 9,931 | 3,744 | 57.4% | 4.5% | 12.3% | 14.4% |
| 19 | Sultan | 6,116 | 3,753 | 56.0% | 1.9% | 19.2% | 13.8% |
| 20 | Everett | 111,845 | 3,760 | 56.9% | 6.1% | 18.1% | 10.0% |
| 21 | Covington | 21,233 | 3,863 | 58.9% | 8.1% | 11.2% | 10.9% |
| 22 | Sammamish | 66,463 | 3,871 | 49.2% | 1.3% | 5.6% | 37.1% |
| 23 | University Place | 34,911 | 3,892 | 59.0% | 7.1% | 12.4% | 10.7% |
| 24 | Issaquah | 39,591 | 3,920 | 55.7% | 2.2% | 5.7% | 26.6% |
| 25 | Seattle | 754,195 | 3,932 | 58.8% | 6.4% | 8.5% | 17.5% |
| 26 | Connell | 5,054 | 3,944 | 52.3% | 4.6% | 34.2% | 3.6% |
| 27 | Mountlake Terrace | 23,104 | 4,025 | 59.8% | 4.2% | 15.3% | 11.5% |
| 28 | Mukilteo | 21,323 | 4,043 | 59.2% | 1.8% | 9.8% | 18.6% |
| 29 | Oak Harbor | 24,362 | 4,106 | 60.7% | 3.9% | 14.0% | 9.5% |
| 30 | Shoreline | 61,431 | 4,179 | 61.6% | 6.6% | 8.7% | 14.4% |
| 31 | Mount Vernon | 35,377 | 4,250 | 53.6% | 1.4% | 36.8% | 3.3% |
| 32 | Moses Lake | 26,083 | 4,253 | 54.7% | 2.7% | 34.9% | 1.0% |
| 33 | Mill Creek | 20,956 | 4,279 | 61.3% | 3.2% | 8.6% | 20.3% |
| 34 | Yakima | 96,961 | 4,285 | 42.7% | 1.0% | 49.4% | 1.3% |
| 35 | Lacey | 57,737 | 4,317 | 63.3% | 5.8% | 11.4% | 9.2% |
| 36 | Bremerton | 44,830 | 4,323 | 63.0% | 3.1% | 13.3% | 6.3% |
| 37 | Kenmore | 23,741 | 4,353 | 62.7% | 2.8% | 9.8% | 16.2% |
| 38 | Kirkland | 92,621 | 4,373 | 62.3% | 1.8% | 7.8% | 19.3% |
| 38 | Yelm | 11,102 | 4,373 | 63.2% | 4.8% | 16.3% | 1.3% |
| 40 | Marysville | 73,002 | 4,389 | 63.0% | 3.4% | 16.9% | 8.6% |
| 41 | East Wenatchee | 14,199 | 4,408 | 54.7% | 0.7% | 37.2% | 1.2% |
| 42 | Monroe | 19,755 | 4,462 | 63.4% | 3.2% | 17.6% | 9.5% |
| 43 | Kennewick | 85,295 | 4,501 | 58.2% | 2.2% | 33.0% | 2.0% |
| 44 | Union Gap | 6,584 | 4,509 | 34.2% | 0.0% | 57.6% | 2.7% |
| 45 | Milton | 8,894 | 4,519 | 64.5% | 3.8% | 15.9% | 5.4% |
| 46 | Pasco | 79,575 | 4,588 | 34.0% | 1.8% | 58.5% | 1.8% |
| 47 | Bothell | 49,610 | 4,623 | 64.4% | 0.8% | 8.4% | 19.1% |
| 48 | Selah | 8,437 | 4,634 | 61.5% | 0.3% | 28.5% | 2.4% |
| 49 | Vancouver | 195,300 | 4,640 | 65.3% | 3.1% | 16.8% | 5.3% |
| 50 | Wenatchee | 35,484 | 4,645 | 57.9% | 0.5% | 35.7% | 0.9% |
| 51 | Woodinville | 13,438 | 4,647 | 64.6% | 1.6% | 8.0% | 19.2% |
| 52 | Tumwater | 26,956 | 4,673 | 66.5% | 4.6% | 9.3% | 7.3% |
| 53 | Mercer Island | 25,307 | 4,680 | 63.3% | 0.9% | 2.4% | 24.4% |
| 53 | Omak | 5,036 | 4,681 | 65.6% | 0.4% | 14.3% | 1.3% |
| 55 | Burlington | 10,003 | 4,720 | 62.3% | 1.6% | 28.6% | 2.5% |
| 56 | Shelton | 10,612 | 4,841 | 63.3% | 0.3% | 28.2% | 0.9% |
| 57 | Duvall | 8,526 | 4,845 | 66.2% | 0.6% | 17.6% | 11.5% |
| 58 | Prosser | 6,305 | 4,848 | 45.0% | 0.0% | 53.1% | 0.7% |
| 59 | Lake Stevens | 40,253 | 4,855 | 67.6% | 2.5% | 11.3% | 10.1% |
| 60 | Aberdeen | 17,088 | 4,856 | 65.5% | 1.3% | 22.8% | 1.5% |
| 61 | Ephrata | 8,560 | 4,902 | 61.2% | 0.5% | 33.8% | 0.1% |
| 62 | Walla Walla | 33,925 | 4,907 | 65.0% | 2.4% | 25.7% | 2.0% |
| 63 | Black Diamond | 5,961 | 4,909 | 67.0% | 0.4% | 7.9% | 17.6% |
| 64 | Lake Forest Park | 13,335 | 4,916 | 68.3% | 5.2% | 5.9% | 11.2% |
| 65 | Pullman | 32,229 | 4,917 | 68.0% | 1.6% | 9.2% | 9.4% |
| 66 | Maple Valley | 28,287 | 4,928 | 67.7% | 1.6% | 5.0% | 15.4% |
| 67 | Steilacoom | 6,686 | 4,949 | 68.2% | 4.4% | 13.1% | 5.0% |
| 68 | Puyallup | 42,746 | 5,014 | 69.0% | 3.7% | 11.2% | 5.6% |
| 69 | North Bend | 7,953 | 5,042 | 68.8% | 0.0% | 13.3% | 6.3% |
| 70 | Fircrest | 7,069 | 5,064 | 69.3% | 5.6% | 4.6% | 7.5% |
| 71 | Camas | 27,007 | 5,161 | 70.0% | 1.4% | 6.5% | 12.6% |
| 72 | Ferndale | 15,999 | 5,174 | 70.0% | 0.6% | 12.6% | 8.4% |
| 73 | Edgewood | 13,032 | 5,214 | 70.9% | 3.0% | 7.9% | 7.9% |
| 74 | Brier | 6,545 | 5,244 | 71.0% | 6.8% | 3.0% | 10.6% |
| 75 | Olympia | 55,951 | 5,286 | 71.2% | 2.7% | 10.6% | 6.7% |
| 76 | Arlington | 21,095 | 5,407 | 71.4% | 1.4% | 16.0% | 5.4% |
| 77 | Sedro-Woolley | 12,831 | 5,422 | 70.6% | 0.3% | 20.3% | 2.5% |
| 78 | College Place | 9,854 | 5,448 | 71.0% | 0.9% | 19.3% | 3.0% |
| 79 | Edmonds | 42,735 | 5,455 | 72.5% | 2.3% | 6.1% | 10.0% |
| 80 | Richland | 62,753 | 5,498 | 72.2% | 1.0% | 14.8% | 6.4% |
| 81 | Blaine | 6,100 | 5,580 | 73.6% | 2.3% | 9.9% | 4.6% |
| 82 | Sumner | 10,733 | 5,590 | 71.5% | 0.4% | 21.1% | 0.6% |
| 83 | Port Orchard | 17,149 | 5,595 | 73.5% | 1.3% | 10.6% | 4.9% |
| 84 | Poulsbo | 12,165 | 5,595 | 73.5% | 2.3% | 10.9% | 2.4% |
| 85 | Centralia | 18,830 | 5,644 | 72.4% | 1.1% | 19.7% | 1.6% |
| 86 | West Richland | 17,586 | 5,661 | 73.4% | 0.7% | 14.6% | 2.1% |
| 87 | Woodland | 6,487 | 5,721 | 71.9% | 0.9% | 23.2% | 0.4% |
| 88 | Cheney | 12,804 | 5,728 | 74.4% | 1.1% | 10.7% | 3.5% |
| 89 | Kelso | 12,684 | 5,887 | 75.4% | 1.9% | 10.3% | 0.7% |
| 90 | Bonney Lake | 22,090 | 5,899 | 75.6% | 2.2% | 9.0% | 3.3% |
| 91 | Ellensburg | 20,874 | 5,956 | 75.8% | 2.1% | 12.8% | 2.6% |
| 92 | Bellingham | 93,438 | 5,977 | 76.2% | 1.3% | 10.2% | 5.2% |
| 93 | Snoqualmie | 13,798 | 6,032 | 76.1% | 0.6% | 2.7% | 14.0% |
| 94 | Ridgefield | 13,408 | 6,102 | 77.0% | 1.4% | 10.3% | 3.6% |
| 95 | Chehalis | 7,587 | 6,119 | 76.6% | 1.0% | 14.6% | 0.5% |
| 96 | Spokane | 230,293 | 6,152 | 77.6% | 2.8% | 8.4% | 2.5% |
| 97 | Orting | 8,978 | 6,159 | 77.5% | 1.5% | 9.6% | 3.2% |
| 98 | Longview | 38,069 | 6,165 | 77.2% | 0.6% | 12.6% | 1.7% |
| 99 | Lynden | 16,234 | 6,192 | 77.2% | 0.3% | 13.9% | 2.3% |
| 100 | Quincy | 7,998 | 6,197 | 19.5% | 0.5% | 76.2% | 1.2% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 122 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Diversity Across Washington
If you’re looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across Washington, this is an accurate list.
The most diverse cities in Washington are Tukwila, SeaTac, Fife, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Des Moines, Lakewood, Burien, and Auburn.
