Given Dr. Martin Luther King‘s appeals for racial acceptance and understanding, MLK day seems like a perfect time to figure out which are the top 20 most tolerant places to live.
In a study conducted by the Daily Beast, cities with more than 250,000 residents were evaluated according to three main criteria: the number of hate crimes reported per 100,000 residents in 2010; statistics on the reach of anti-discrimination laws, attitudes on same-sex marriage, and religious tolerance; and the degree of racial diversity.
The list includes big city no-brainers like San Francisco and New York. But there are quite a few medium-size markets such as Baltimore, MD, Raleigh, NC, (pictured) and Trenton, NJ, that make up the numbers too.
We’ve included No. 20, No. 15 and No. 10 to give readers a sense of how a few of the cities stack up.
20. Tampa, FL
“Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 2.8
State tolerance rank (out of 50): 21 (tie)
Diversity:
Same-sex couples per 1,000 households: 7.2
White percent of population: 80.3 percent
Black percent of population: 11.8 percent
Asian percent of population: 3.0 percent
Most prevalent religion: Catholic, 15.4 percent”
15. Vallejo, CA
“Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 5.3
State tolerance rank (out of 50): 10
Diversity:
Same-sex couples per 1,000 households: 6.2
White percent of population: 52.7 percent
Black percent of population: 15.1 percent
Asian percent of population: 14.7 percent
Most prevalent religion: n/a”
10. Austin, TX
“Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents: 0.6
State tolerance rank (out of 50): 34
Diversity:
Same-sex couples per 1,000 households: 9.3
White percent of population: 76.0 percent
Black percent of population: 7.3 percent
Asian percent of population: 4.8 percent
Most prevalent religion: Catholic, 18.4 percent
Can you guess which which city topped the list? Is it Honolulu, HI, Durham, NC, or Las Vegas, NV?”
Read the slideshow at the Daily Beast to find out.
