Danbury Named Among Top 10 'Most Diverse Cities In America': Report

DANBURY, CT — A new report tagging the "Most Diverse Cities in America" has named Danbury to the Top 10.

In its effort to "identify the places where people have the most unique blend of perspective," personal finance website WalletHub sifted data for 501 of the most populated cities, limiting each state to no more than 10 cities each. The cities were scored across five criteria: socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household and religious diversity.

Danbury ranked No. 10 overall, but was No. 4 among cities with fewer than 100,000 residents. Bridgeport and Stamford also performed well in the WalletHub rankings, coming in at No. 12 and No. 19, respectively. Stamford was also ranked No. 3 among "midsize" cities.

"Danbury is one of the best places to live, work, grow, and play, this ranking is a testament to the strong, welcoming community our city is," said Mayor Roberto L. Alves. "We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate and embrace Danbury’s diverse, multidimensional makeup which brings economic, social, and societal benefits with it."

In a bit of surprise, the top three "Most Diverse Cities" are all in Maryland. More predictably, three other burgs in the Top 10 are located in Texas. The analysts' complete methodology can be found here.

Here's the Top 30 "Most Diverse Cities in America" as calculated by WalletHub:

See the complete list here.

What's the big deal? According to Chanel Meyers, an assistant professor in the University of Oregon's Department of Psychology, "greater exposure to more diverse groups has shown to be related to more creative and flexible thinking, greater prosociality, and less experiences with discrimination."

It's not all rainbows and Pepsi commercials, however. Meyers said diversity can have a dark side:

"The downsides to diversity are often in the reactions to the increase in diversity within communities. For example, increasing racial diversity can lead to greater racial segregation. Segregated neighborhoods often have a greater impact on health outcomes, employment, and public resources/services disparities."