Living in a multicultural city comes with many benefits. Diverse communities bring new perspectives, greater versatility, and economic boosts, to name a few. As it turns out, Austin has some catching up to do if it wants to join three other Texas cities that are among the most diverse places in the country.

Austin missed out on the spotlight after earning No. 70 in WalletHub's annual ranking of the "Most Diverse Cities in the U.S. (2024)." The report compared 501 U.S. cities across 13 metrics in five categories that encompass "diversity" across socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household, and religious factors.

The Texas Capital earned 69.22 out of a total 100 possible points, a near four-point difference separating it from Gaithersburg, Maryland – apparently the most diverse U.S. city – which earned an even score of 73 points.

Austin has unfortunately slipped from its former position as the 38th most diverse city in America in WalletHub's 2021 report.

Austin performed the best in one overall major category for socioeconomic diversity, earning No. 6 out of all 501 cities in the study. Austin's cultural diversity earned it No. 72, while it fell behind when it came to household and religious diversity, earning respective ranks as No. 198 and No. 289. The city performed the worst in the overall category for economic diversity, at No. 340.

In more specific categories, Austin performed well in the rankings for its educational-attainment diversity (No. 15), and household-type diversity (No. 59). The city fell the farthest behind in the rankings for occupational diversity (No. 463) and marital-status diversity (No. 364).

Here's how Austin performed within the study's remaining categories out of all 501 cities:

• 90th – Racial and ethnic diversity
• 97th – Linguistic diversity
• 130th – Industry diversity
• 166th – Worker-class diversity
• 173rd – Income diversity
• 243rd – Household-size diversity
• 262nd – Age diversity

"The most diverse cities demonstrate diversity in many dimensions – not just in race and gender but also everything from residents’ languages and birthplaces to their job types and household sizes," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe in the report. "These cities blend together a multitude of different perspectives, helping people to better understand the world around them and become more empathetic. This exchange of ideas also tends to increase the economic success of diverse cities."

The three Texas cities that outshined Austin by earning spots in the overall top 10 most diverse U.S. cities were Houston (No. 4), Arlington (No. 5), and Dallas (No. 8).

Other Texas cities that earned spots in the report include Fort Worth (No. 22), Plano (No. 83), San Antonio (No. 87), Corpus Christi (No. 125), El Paso (No. 253), and Laredo (No. 468).

The most diverse cities in the U.S. are:

• No. 1 – Gaithersburg, Maryland
• No. 2 – Silver Spring, Maryland
• No. 3 – Germantown, Maryland
• No. 4 – Houston, Texas
• No. 5 – Arlington, Texas
• No. 6 – New York, New York
• No. 7 – Jersey City, New Jersey
• No. 8 – Dallas, Texas
• No. 9 – Charlotte, North Carolina
• No. 10 – Danbury, Connecticut

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.