Atlanta may be known as a "Black Mecca," but it ranks surprisingly low on the list of the country's most diverse cities. That's according to new analysis from U.S. News & World Report.
The list put Atlanta at No. 44 on a list of 66 cities across the country.
The report looked at cities nationwide with a population of more than 300,000 and ranked their racial and ethic diversity from 2010 to 2018.
The analysis shows that almost 70% of cities in the country are more diverse than they were in 2010.
“The change in urban diversity over the past decade or so has been modest, but significant. On average, the country's largest cities became 2% more diverse between 2010 and 2018,” the report concludes.
The report used an index developed by USA Today to determine a diversity score for each of the cities. The index is based on how likely “two people chosen at random would be different from one another,” the report says.
They looked at six racial and ethic groups: white, black, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic.
On track with nationwide trends, Atlanta was 2.4% more diverse in 2018 than 2010, the report concludes.
Detroit had the highest percentage of increase in racial diversity in the eight-year period at 21%, followed by Henderson, Nevada and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The report found Stockton, California to be the most diverse city in the country, followed by fellow Golden State cities Oakland and Sacramento.
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In a separate report from Forbes, Atlanta recently tied with Washington, D.C., for the cities where African-Americans are doing the best economically.
"Atlanta, with its historically black universities and strong middle class, has long been described as the black capital of America, and its thriving entertainment scene has given rise to claims that it's become a cultural capital as well," Forbes contributor Joel Kotkin wrote.
With the 2020 census on the horizon, there is an effort both locally and nationally to make sure previously underrepresented communities are counted accurately, including African Americans.
For the 2010 census, the bureau undercounted the U.S. black population by 2.1%, according to previous AJC reporting.
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