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There's a lot of people that say or think the Midwest is not diverse at all or it's all Middle Class white catholics or WASPs or all (this or that), there are some areas of the Midwest like that but there's actually a lot of diverse cities and areas in the Midwest.
What are some of the most diverse cities in the Midwest (racially, culturally, etc.)?
Detroit- 80% Black(!!!), 12% White, 5% Hispanic. There is a sizable Middle Eastern population in Dearborn, but aside from that, Metro Detroit outside of the city and a couple other towns is all White.
Minneapolis- 63% White, 17% Black, with a large Somali and Hmong community.
St. Louis- 50% Black, 43% white.
So mostly the Midwest is very Vanilla with a few concentrations of Black people in very small areas. Average Hispanic population is below 10%, Asian population is negligible. Yawn.
The Twin Cities has the largest Hmong, Somali, Oromo (Ethiopian), Liberian, Karen (Burmese), and Anuak (Ethiopian/Sudanese) populations in the U. S., and is home to the second largest Tibetan population.
Minneapolis and St. Paul (2000 Census)
Minneapolis
White 62.5
Black or African American 18.0
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 7.6
Asian 6.1
Some other race 4.1
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.2
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1
St. Paul
White 64.0
Asian 12.4
Black or African American 11.7
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)7.9
Some other race 3.8
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1
I don't think it's that people don't think Midwestern Cities aren't diverse. Historically, they drew many ethnic groups along with African Americans from the South during the Industrial Revolution... The problem historically has been that Midwestern cities tend to be more racially polarized than big cities on the Coasts. Used to be you could count on Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland leading the way in segregated housing pattern studies -- which extended into the suburbs as well. Even today, there tends to be more of a confrontational attitude in Midwestern cities amongst racial groups as opposed to places like New York or Philly where, while the races don't necessarily love one another, they more tend to live more close together more or less harmoniously -- I find far more mixed areas even among working classes in the East. Spectacular race incidents in places like NYC's Bensonhurst and Howard Beach are more the exception than the rule -- and these incidents were fanned by the nat'l media as well.
I think some of those above stats are off a little. I'll put the newest stats I can find, new census populations and estimates.
Chicago-38% white, 35% black, 5% Asian, 23% other. 28% Hispanic (of any race)
Detroit-10% white, 83% black, 1% Asian, 6% other, 6% Hispanic (of any race)
Indianapolis-66% white, 26% black, 2% Asian, 6% other. 7% Hispanic (of any race)
Columbus- 66% white, 26% black, 4% Asian, 4% other. 4% Hispanic (of any race)
Milwaukee- 45% white, 39% black, 3% Asian, 13% other. 15% Hispanic (of any race)
Oklahoma City- 68% white, 14% black, 4% Asian, 14% other. 14% Hispanic (of any race)
Kansas City- 63% white, 29% black, 2% Asian, 8% other. 9% Hispanic (of any race)
Omaha- 77% white, 13% black, 2% Asian, 8% other. 11% Hispanic (of any race)
Cleveland- 39% white, 53% black, 2% Asian, 6% other. 8% Hispanic (of any race)
Tulsa-68% white, 16% black, 2% Asian, 15% other. 11% Hispanic (of any race)
It can be for any size city though, not just the largest.
The city I live in right now (Lorain, OH in the Cleveland area) is diverse for the midwest: 65% white (55% white non-Hispanic), 19% black, 1% Asian, 16% other. 22% Hispanic (of any race). I would guess the Midwest average would be about 85% white, 10% black, 1% Asian, 3% other. 4% Hispanic (of any race).
Without counting Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul definitely.... Its the one place OUTSIDE of Chicago I can hear people speaking languages other than English in the Midwest.... :P
Without counting Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul definitely.... Its the one place OUTSIDE of Chicago I can hear people speaking languages other than English in the Midwest.... :P
Without counting Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul definitely.... Its the one place OUTSIDE of Chicago I can hear people speaking languages other than English in the Midwest.... :P
Spanish is now heard in most every Midwestern city.
What's interesting is that while some are saying that certain cities lack diversity, most all of the cities mentioned have African-American populations in a proportion that exceeds the national percentage. We're only behind in terms of the Hispanic population, and that's changing rapidly.
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