# L.A. is the most diverse city in the U.S. "Sez who?" asks this skeptical NYCer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744 "2006-01-19T23:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/21 "2006-01-22T14:49:35Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > This “debate” is bordering on ridiculous. I agree. But America is about competing and winning. New York is _especially_ about winning – being the best, the most civilized, the most cosmopolitan. The world NEEDS New York – as much as New York needs the world. Can any other city anywhere say that? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/22 "2006-01-22T15:01:18Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > The world NEEDS New York – as much as New York needs the world. Can any other city anywhere say that? Lord, and New Yorkers wonder why everyone else finds them so insufferable. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/23 "2006-01-22T15:12:09Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > This “debate” is bordering on ridiculous. Agreed. It’s turned into a rather stupid pissing contest. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/24 "2006-01-23T21:16:44Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > I agree. But America is about competing and winning. New York is _especially_ about winning – being the best, the most civilized, the most cosmopolitan. The **Straight Dope** is about objectively finding the truth, the Right Answer, What Really Happened, how it works, why the world is what it is, _even if we don’t like the answer._ Winning has nothing to do with it. Put the ego away, please. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/25 "2006-01-23T22:42:51Z")
I don’t know the answer to the OP, because there probably isn’t just “one”. But in my small workgroup (about 20 people…this is an LA based company) we have represented: US, Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Burundi, Iran, China and Armenia. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/26 "2006-01-23T23:04:26Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > The **Straight Dope** is about objectively finding the truth, the Right Answer, What Really Happened, how it works, why the world is what it is, _even if we don’t like the answer._ Winning has nothing to do with it. Put the ego away, please. Not my ego. (I’m a midwesterner by temperament who lives near, but not in, NYC.) I was whooshing – seriously, in a way, but whooshing. Trying to test the water to see if any NYers would agree with me, and if so, how far they’d agree. Apologies if it rubbed anyone the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/27 "2006-01-23T23:19:27Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I don’t know the answer to the OP, because there probably isn’t just “one”. But in my small workgroup (about 20 people…this is an LA based company) we have represented: US, Ukraine, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Burundi, Iran, China and Armenia. That would be hardly remarkable in most companies in Toronto. Really, most of the really big New World cities can make this claim. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/28 "2006-01-23T23:23:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That would be hardly remarkable in most companies in Toronto. > > Really, most of the really big New World cities can make this claim. True enough. In my experience, plenty of folks living in Sydney, Melbourne, or Vancouver could make similar claims. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744/29 "2006-01-24T04:19:58Z")
> [@Spartydog](#): > > The methodology of the survey sounds rather dubious. As opposed to NYC can LA point to DISTINCLY Hassidic, Albanian, Arab, Russian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Jamacian, Haitian, Irish, Italian, Slavic, Chinese, German, Korean, Somalian, Columbian, etc., etc, neighborhoods? > > Diversity isn’t just saying that we have a bunch of Hispanics among us. How does number of ethnic neighborhoods have anything to do with how diverse a city is? Where are the numbers? My city doesn’t have ethnic neighborhoods, but off the top of my head I can count decent numbers of Italian, Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Turkish, Greek, Filipino, Korean, Guamanian, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, German, Euro-mutts, Black, Jewish, Fijian, Fijian Indian, Southern Indian, Samoan, Hawaiian, Tongan, and Japanese. At one time, my city was ranked as the 7th most diverse city in the US. Currently, if you believe [city-data.com](http://city-data.com), we’re number 84, NYC is ranked 52, and these are cities with 5,000 or more people. We’re only at 25,000 people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/l-a-is-the-most-diverse-city-in-the-u-s-sez-who-asks-this-skeptical-nycer/340744.md?page=1)