With both the Fourth of July and a landmark election around the corner, it’s a good time to ask: Which U.S. cities bleed the most red, white and blue? To find out, the leading personal-finance website WalletHub took an in-depth look at the Metro Areas That Most & Least Resemble the U.S. right now.
It’s important to do so for many reasons, such as: 1) deciding whether we want cultural variety or uniformity; 2) learning which cities exceed or lag behind national standards for certain factors such as education or income; and 3) finding the most fertile ground to develop an entrepreneur’s business idea.
To determine which metro areas most and least mirror national standards, WalletHub examined various demographical statistics for 379 of the largest U.S. metro areas. Our data set includes 26 key metrics, such as age, gender and income as well as household makeup and housing tenure.
| Biggest Resemblance | Smallest Resemblance | ||||
| 1 | Indianapolis, IN | 370 | Show Low, AZ | ||
| 2 | Cincinnati, OH | 371 | El Centro, CA | ||
| 3 | Oklahoma City, OK | 372 | Brownsville, TX | ||
| 4 | Columbus, OH | 373 | Lawrence, KS | ||
| 5 | Jacksonville, FL | 374 | Honolulu, HI | ||
| 6 | Phoenix, AZ | 375 | San Jose, CA | ||
| 7 | Nashville, TN | 376 | Laredo, TX | ||
| 8 | Birmingham, AL | 377 | Provo, UT | ||
| 9 | Charleston, SC | 378 | McAllen, TX | ||
| 10 | Tulsa, OK | 379 | The Villages, FL | ||
Key Stats
- In terms of gender, Virginia Beach, Va., most closely resembles the U.S. Hanford, Calif., has the least national resemblance, with 6.45 percent fewer females.
- In terms of age, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, most closely resembles the U.S. The Villages, Fla., has the least national resemblance, with 35 percent more residents who are aged 65 or older.
- In terms of race, Bridgeport, Conn., most closely resembles the U.S. Honolulu has the least national resemblance, with 38.2 percent more residents who are Asian.
- In terms of housing tenure, Shreveport, La., most closely resembles the U.S. Los Angeles, Calif., has the least national resemblance, with 48 percent more renter-occupied than owner-occupied housing units.
- In terms of income, Detroit, Mich., most closely resembles the U.S. California, Md., has the least national resemblance, with 10.9 percent less residents earning less than $25,000 a year.
- In terms of educational attainment, Savannah, Ga., most closely resembles the U.S. Boulder, Colo., has the least national resemblance, with 28.8 percent more people with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
