If you’re interested in how Memphis’ diversity stacks up with that of the rest of the nation — or even the rest of Tennessee — USAToday compiled a county-by-county map of its diversity index.
The deeper the red, the more likely it is that two people chosen at random in each county have a different race or ethnicity.
The graphic was part of a story about how minority births are driving growth in U.S. diversity:
“The 2009 national index is 52, up from 47 in 2000. That means that the chance of two randomly selected people being different is slightly more than half. In 1980, the index was 34, a 1-in-3 chance. …
Much of the rapid growth in diversity is driven by an influx of young Hispanic immigrants whose birthrates are higher than those of non-Hispanic whites, creating a race and ethnic chasm and a widening age gap. ‘There are more than 500 counties which have a majority of minority children,’ says Kenneth Johnson, demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute. ‘The population is changing to minority from the bottom up.'”
