From the gateway days of nearby Ellis Island to today, Jersey City has long been a true American melting pot. It's no surprise, then, that Jersey City is the most diverse city in the country, according to a new survey.
After looking at 350 of the most populated cities in the United States, finance website WalletHub found that Jersey City came in No. 1 in ethno-racial and linguistic diversity.
The study analyzed information from the U.S. Census Bureau in three categories: racial and ethnic diversity, which weighed the most, as well as language diversity and region of birth diversity.
Jersey City got outstanding marks in all three, coming in at No. 3 for racial and ethnic diversity (bested only by Oakland and Vallejo, Calif.), No. 4 for language diversity and No. 7 for region of birth diversity.
"It's a not a surprise as we are city a of immigrants in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty," Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said. "While today the immigrants aren't only Italians or Irish, but now are a far more diverse community from South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. As Manhattan becomes more expensive, Jersey City continues to be a city that allows people to capture the American dream."
According to 2010 Census information, more Jersey City residents identified as white (32.7 percent), but other major ethnic groups also each made up a sizable portion of the population, with Black or African American at 25.8 percent, Asian at 23.7 and Hispanic or Latino at 27.6. Almost 5 percent of those surveyed said they were two or more races.
Census information from 2009 to 2013 said foreign-born people made up 39 percent of Jersey City's population and that a whopping 52.1 percent of respondents spoke a language other than English at home. Major languages spoken in the city of 247,597 include Spanish, Tagalog and Arabic.
Jersey City also has the largest Coptic community in the country and the largest Indian and Filipino communities in New Jersey, city officials said, noting that the city hosts more than 40 flag-raisings for different countries throughout the year at City Hall.
"And this is just for the countries who have active community groups in Jersey City," city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.
Rounding out WalletHub's top 10 were Germantown, Md.; Hayward, Calif.; New York City; Carson, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; Irving, Texas; Richmond, Calif.; Santa Clara, Calif.; and Stockton, Calif.
Newark, the Garden State's other big city, came in at No. 64, ranking 113 in racial and ethnic diversity, 33 in language diversity and 63 in origin of birth diversity.
See the methodology and full study here.
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