According to a recently released report by WalletHub, Texas is the second-most diverse state in the U.S. in 2025, trailing only California.
But is that finding news to celebrate or just empty calories?
Research has repeatedly shown that companies benefit from a more diverse workforce in nearly every metric. The same is true of colleges and universities, which see stronger student engagement, learning outcomes and innovation when diversity is prioritized.
The Greater Houston area—Missouri City, Fort Bend County, Harris County and Houston itself—has long promoted its diversity as a source of pride and a major selling point. Business leaders and elected officials regularly tout the region’s multicultural fabric as a magnet for new businesses, home buyers and global partnerships. In fact, several studies have identified Fort Bend County as the most ethnically diverse county in the nation.
Beneath these celebratory headlines lies a stark contradiction: While local leaders embrace diversity as an economic and cultural asset, state and national political forces steadily dismantle the structures that sustain it. This raises an important question: What does WalletHub’s glowing report on Texas diversity really mean for everyday residents?
Texas Two-Step
WalletHub compared all 50 states across six key categories—socio-economic, cultural, economic, household, religious and political diversity. Texas ranked second overall, including:
- 5th in racial & ethnic diversity
- 3rd in linguistic diversity
- 10th in educational-attainment diversity
- 1st in industry diversity
- 3rd in religious diversity
“Race and gender are probably the first things that come to mind when people think about diversity, but there’s plenty more that make this nation diverse,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “The most diverse states have above-average variety when it comes to people’s ages, birthplaces, languages, jobs, family structures and more. Moving to a diverse state can be an extremely enriching experience as it exposes you to new ideas and new ways of living.”
On paper, Texas is a national leader. However, the policy landscape tells a different story.
Diversity under attack
Over the last five years, federal and state actions have gutted programs to protect and expand diversity.
At the national level, the 2023 Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ended affirmative action in higher education, prohibiting colleges from considering race in admissions. The ruling immediately impacted Black and Brown student enrollment across the country.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump issued executive orders dismantling DEI initiatives within the federal government and for federal contractors. Federal agencies were directed to shut down DEIA offices, and long-standing affirmative action requirements for federal contractors were eliminated.
At the state level, Texas lawmakers have gone even further. Senate Bill 17 (2023) banned DEI offices in public universities, shuttering over 35 offices and eliminating 350 jobs. Programs such as cultural graduations, cultural welcome weeks and support centers for minority and undocumented students were either ended or repurposed.
Governor Greg Abbott extended the attack in 2025 with Executive Order GA-55, requiring all Texas state agencies to eliminate DEI practices. That same year, Senate Bill 12 extended the ban to K-12 schools, forbidding DEI hiring practices, banning certain student groups and allowing parents to file grievances against schools that promote what legislators called “differential treatment.”
The cumulative effect has been devastating. More than 300,000 Black women have lost jobs nationally amid the rollback of diversity-related programs, while scholarship and grant funding for students of color has been slashed. For many Texans, diversity is not only underappreciated—it’s been actively criminalized.
Additionally, Texas’s diversity numbers don’t improve health outcomes for Black women. Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause when compared to white and Hispanic women, according to a study from the University of Houston. Moreover, Black women in Texas are also twice as likely to suffer complications from pregnancies as white women, based on 2020 national data.
Disparity studies initiated by County Commissioner Rodney Ellis revealed that Black-owned businesses in local government, the Port of Houston and multiple ISDs received funding percentages far below the racial demographic breakdown of Houston/Harris County.
Despite its diverse population, the state’s lack of political diversity was at the core of the national conversation about the Texas Legislature’s redistricting efforts. Those efforts actually decreased the diversity of political voices (voting power) for Black and Brown Texans.
Expert voices
Sociologists and scholars note both the promise and peril of diversity in a politically hostile environment.
“Intergroup relations may range from hostile to hospitable,” said Dr. Lori Latrice Martin of Louisiana State University. “Individuals from different backgrounds may learn to respect each other’s culture and heritage or struggle to coexist peacefully. Diversity may represent a challenge for some people, but it may be overcome by learning about one another’s history and culture.”
Rice University sociologist Dr. Tony N. Brown shared thoughts on the matter.
“Benefits of living in a diverse state include access to others whose identities, beliefs and behavior differ from your own,” said Brown. “Further, your state often becomes a revenue-generating tourist destination for out-of-state visitors who appreciate new ways of seeing the world.”
Regarding diversity’s challenges, Brown listed the “transaction costs of negotiating the unfamiliar in familiar settings” and the stress experienced by individuals with rigid worldviews, while wrestling with the amount of social change experienced by more diverse states.
In terms of economics, diversity is often a growth engine.
“States can enhance economic growth by leveraging the broad range of skills, talents and connections that diverse populations bring,” said Dr. Bahaudin Mujtaba of Nova Southeastern University. “Immigrant communities often contribute entrepreneurial energy and international trade links, while multicultural workforces enhance creativity and innovation within businesses.”
Houston’s crossroads
This contradiction—celebrated diversity at the local level, dismantled diversity at the state and national levels—places Houston and surrounding counties at a crossroads. Can the region continue to market itself as the nation’s most diverse community while watching policies gutting diversity supports?
On the ground, the picture is mixed. Houston remains home to thriving immigrant neighborhoods, powerful Black and Latino political leadership and businesses that proudly embrace multiculturalism. But the rollback of DEI programs means fewer protections for marginalized groups, fewer scholarships for minority students and more barriers for historically excluded communities.
For now, Houston and Fort Bend County may remain proud of their multicultural identity. But unless statewide and national policies catch up, diversity in Texas may be more symbol than substance.
