No Surprise. South Dakota Is among Bottom Third Least Diverse States

When I first moved to South Dakota 30 years ago, whenever anyone discussed the topic of diversity in the Mount Rushmore State the answer usually revolved around which part of Scandinavia your grandparents were from.

Well, a lot has changed in regards to the makeup of South Dakota's population in the last three decades but not nearly enough to move the state out of the bottom third of the most diverse states in America.

WalletHub examined the numbers in several categories and ranked South Dakota 39th of out 50 when it came to diversity.

The main rankings dragging the state down:

• Socio-Economic Diversity: 39th
• Cultural Diversity: 42nd
• Household Diversity: 43rd
• Least Educational-Attainment Diversity: 46th
• Political Diversity: 50th

When the focus shifts to work-related numbers, South Dakota's diversity levels improve greatly:

• Economic Diversity: 8th
• Worker Class Diversity: 10th
• Industry Diversity: 11th
• Occupational Diversity: 13th

South Dakota's best showing in any diversity category came in religion where the state ranks second ion the nation, trailing only North Dakota.

Overall, the five most diverse states are California, Texas, Hawaii, New Jersey, and New York.

The five least diverse states are West Virginia, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Montana.