Minnesota city used to be America’s ‘least diverse’ — and it hasn’t grown in 50 years

Nypost · May 18, 2026 · 492 words · By Alex Oliveira

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/us-news/minnesota-city-used-to-be-americas-least-d…

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9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

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verified Verified By Reference 2

info Single Source 1

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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“New Ulm — a small town about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis — is about 93% white across its population of 13,863 residents, US Census estimates show.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that about 93% of New Ulm's residents are white, non-Hispanic according to the 2020 census. Wikipedia confirms the city is in Minnesota and provides a population figure (14,120) close to the claim's 13,863.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Carver County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,922. Its county seat is Chaska. Carver County is named for explorer Jonathan Carver, who in 1766…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carver_County,_Minnesota

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Neu-Ulm (German pronunciation: [nɔʏˈʔʊlm] , lit. 'New Ulm'; Swabian: Nej-Ulm) is the seat of the Neu-Ulm district and a town in Swabia, Bavaria. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neu-Ulm

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Ulm ( NEW ULM) is a city and the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,120 at the 2020 census. New Ulm is on the triangle of land formed by the confluence o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Ulm,_Minnesota

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“nearly every person in the tiny town is of German ancestry, with the language still spoken in many households, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While Wikipedia confirms the city's existence and general location, the specific claim about the prevalence of the German language in households and the 'nearly every person' ancestry is not corroborated by the provided evidence snippets, though it is a known characteristic of the town.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Federal Republic of Germany is a federation and consists of sixteen partly sovereign "states" (German: Länder, sing. Land). Of the 16 states, 13 are so-called "area-states" (Flächenländer); in the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ulm (German pronunciation: [ʊlm] ) is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is locate…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“a National Geographic study from the 1980s found it to be the least diverse city of its size in the entire country — where it was found to be 99.2% white.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm New Ulm's historical status as the 'whitest place in America' or 'least diverse city' and mention its loss of this status, aligning with the claim of a past study identifying it as such.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,912. Its county seat is New Ulm. The county was formed in 1855 and organized in 1856. Brown County…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_County,_Minnesota

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the region. Such regions a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_statistical_area

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

“diversity has increased by 6% — but its population has been almost untouched during that time, with the 1980 population clocking in around 13,755.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence does not contain the specific 1980 population figure (13,755) or the specific 6% increase in diversity metric.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Ulm is an unincorporated community in Austin County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, New Ulm had a population of 285.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Ulm,_Texas

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL e.V., commonly known as SSV Ulm 1846 or SSV Ulm, is a German football club based in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL was formed on 7 March 2009 as new independent cl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSV_Ulm_1846

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“The population across the rest of Minnesota by comparison has increased nearly by 2 million people during that time — with its diversity increasing from 96% white in 1980 to about 76% white in 2025.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided does not contain the specific population growth numbers for Minnesota (2 million) or the specific percentage shifts in white population from 1980 to 2025.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1980th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 980th year of the 2nd millennium, the 80th …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1980 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives on November 4, 1980, to elect members to serve in the 97th United States Congre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_United_States_House_of_Re…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 1980. The Republican ticket of former California governor Ronald Reagan and former director of central intelligence George H. W. Bu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_United_States_presidentia…

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“New Ulm is also far behind the national diversity average, which hovers around 57% white.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that the national numbers for white, non-Hispanic residents are between 56% and 58%, which corroborates the 'around 57%' claim.

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web search NEUTRAL — With about 4% of the world's population, the United States is the third most populous country (after India and China), and the most populous in the Americas and the Western Hemisphere. Its estimated p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta…

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web search NEUTRAL — USA. United States is a country in North America, known for its diverse landscapes and the Grand Canyon. It has a population of over 349 million, making it the 3rd largest country in the world.The Uni…
https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/united-states

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web search NEUTRAL — Population of the United States: current, historical, and projected population, growth rate, immigration, median age, total fertility rate (TFR), population density, urbanization, urban population, co…
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population…

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“landing it as the 15th least diverse city of its size today.”

CORROBORATED

The Daily Mail article explicitly states that the city 'now stands as the 15th least diverse city in America'.

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web search NEUTRAL — “New Ulm is not the least diverse in the U.S.A., but it’s up there,” Howison said, calling the city “a very homogenous place by national standards.” About 93% of New Ulm’s residents are white, non-His…
https://www.startribune.com/new-ulm-diversity-curious-minnes…

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web search NEUTRAL — The city now stands as the 15th least diverse city in America, with a large majority of its residents from the same German families that settled there generations ago. Jeff Howison, senior research an…
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15827639/New-Ulm-Minn…

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web search NEUTRAL — top 15 most culturally diverse cities in the United States.
https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-and-least-eth…

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“St. Marys, PA — another Germanic enclave — is now the country’s least diverse city of its size with about 95% of the 12,700-person population being white.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that St. Mary's, Pennsylvania is now the city with the title of 'whitest place in America' (least diverse) and shares a high percentage of German heritage residents.

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web search NEUTRAL — Providence St. Peter Hospital is the leading hospital in southwest Washington, providing a full array of services to communities in Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.
https://www.providence.org/locations/wa/st-peter-hospital

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web search NEUTRAL — Washington Vets to Tech (WaV2T) is a 16-week intensive program offered at Lacey and JBLM campuses that prepares active military and veterans for new careers in computer science and IT.
https://www.stmartin.edu/

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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · Watch homilies, small group reflections, live-streamed Masses, weddings and funerals, and much more! Get our app! Get the latest on parish happenings. Interact with other members of your S…
https://saintmichaelparish.org/

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“The small Pennsylvania city’s population has nearly doubled since 1980”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided regarding the population growth of St. Marys, PA since 1980.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.

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Minnesota city used to be America’s ‘least diverse’ — and it hasn’t grown in 50 years

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