Tennessee
Just how diverse is Tennessee? See how the Volunteer State ranks compared to other U.S. states
Population in southern states grew by 1.4 million in 2023
The population growth was measured between July 1, 2022 and 2023 and considered factors like birth and death rates and international migration.
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A new report has just revealed the most and least diverse states in the country. According to WalletHub, California, Texas and Florida rank as the nation’s most diverse states, while New Hampshire, West Virginia and Maine rank as the least diverse. Tennessee landed among the middle, ranking as the 27th (65.11/100) most diverse state.
While Tennessee did rank in the top or bottom, the state has experienced an over 10% increase in diversity between 2010-2020, according to the latest data from the United States Census Bureau. In 2020, the Volunteer State’s Diversity Index reached 46.6%, a 17.1% increase from 39.8% in 2010.
That figure is only expected to rise, as the state is projected to become even more racially and ethnically diverse by 2040 when the state is projected to be home to eight million residents, according to research from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Beyond racial diversity, WalletHub also analyzed states’ economic, religious and political diversity.
“Race and gender are probably the first things that come to mind when people think about diversity, but there’s plenty more that makes 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.”
Which Tennessee cities grew the most? See how population shifted according to the U.S. Census
How has Tennessee’s diversity changed within a decade?
Between 2010 and 2020, Tennessee experienced an 8.9% increase in population, or an additional 564,735 more residents. During that same time frame, the following groups experienced the highest population increases:
- Some other race alone or in combination (260,000)
- Hispanic or Latino (189,128)
- American Indian or Alaska Native alone or in combination (106,562)
- Black/African American alone or in combination (88,936)
The white alone (68,990), Asian alone (65,285) and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone or in combination (3,233) populations experienced the lowest increases.
The most diverse states in the country, according to WalletHub
- California (70.77/100)
- Texas (70.48/100)
- Florida (69.88/100)
- New Mexico (69.83/100)
- Hawaii (69.77/100)
- Nevada (69.72/100)
- New Jersey (69.71/100)
- New York (69.62/100
- Maryland (69.12/100)
- Arizona (69.10/100)
The least diverse states in the country, according to WalletHub
- Wisconsin (63.45/100)
- North Dakota (63.42/100)
- Utah (63.27/100)
- Iowa (62.88)
- Wyoming (62.81/100)
- Kentucky (62.63/100)
- Montana (62.15/100)
- Vermont (61.51/100)
- New Hampshire (60.42/100)
- Maine (60.10/100)
- West Virginia (59.72/100)
Methodology
In order to determine the most and least diverse states in the country, WalletHub compared the 50 states across six dimensions: socio-economic diversity (20 total points), cultural diversity (20 total points), economic diversity (20 total points), household diversity (20 total points), religious diversity (10 total points), and political diversity (10 total points).
WalletHub then evaluated those dimensions using 14 metrics, which include:
- Household-income diversity (13.33 points)
- Educational-attainment diversity (6.67 points)
- Racial and ethnic diversity (10 points)
- Linguistic diversity (6.67 points)
- Birthplace diversity (3.33 points)
- Industry diversity (12 points)
- Occupational diversity (4 points)
- Worker-class diversity (4 points)
- Marital-status diversity (5 points)
- Generational diversity (5 points)
- Household-type diversity (5 points)
- Household size diversity (5 points)
- Religious diversity (10 points)
- Political diversity (10 points)
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale. Each state’s weighted average was then determined across all metrics to calculate its overall score and the resulting scores were used to rank-order the states. A total score of 100 represents the most diverse state.
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana
Tennessee
Packers vs Titans Week 3 Opening Odds: Why is Tennessee favored?
For the first time in recent years, the Green Bay Packers are on the winning end of the classic barroom discussion of “We got beat by THAT guy?!” In his 4th ever start, Malik Willis completed 85.7% of his passes for a 126.8 passer rating and a VERY respectable 10.14 ANY/A. For reference, those marks are similar to Aaron Rodgers vs. the Titans in Dec 2020.
All that to say…according to FanDuel, the Packers open as the 2.5-point underdogs going into Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. This is to be expected. Malik will likely start the game, and his body of work just hasn’t seen a consistent level of play that would give someone the impression he’s more than a backup, last week notwithstanding.
Should Jordan Love be cleared and start, expect the line to flip. The Packers would likely end up as 3-point favorites if last week’s line is any indication.
The over/under for the game is 36.5, which is abysmally low in today’s NFL. The average o/u would be a full 10 points higher than that. The sportsbooks don’t seem to think either team will light it up on the scoreboard.
Malik Willis is going into the stadium of the team that got rid of him in favor of Mason Rudolf. Will Willis’ will be enough to win against Will Levis, or will Willis leave with Levis as the victor?
Tennessee
Josh Heupel Speaks With The Media On Returning To Norman, Oklahoma
The Tennessee Vols head coach will be returning to his Alma mater on Saturday as he is set to take on the newly added SEC team in the Oklahoma Sooners. The former Heisman contending QB and current undefeated and top 10 ranked head coach Josh Heupel would take time to talk about this during his pre-Oklahoma presser on Monday.
“It’ll be unique,” Heupel said. “I had teammates and friends back there. They hit me up a little bit early. They were starting last week already. It’ll be unique going back into that stadium. It’s going to be a viewpoint, I’m not sure I’ve ever spent a day on the opposing sideline inside of that stadium, not even for a scrimmage. So it’ll be different, but it’s one that I’m really looking forward to. There’s so many people that have been a huge part of my journey that I get a chance to go back and hopefully get a chance to say hi to a bunch of them. You know, it starts with teammates. It’s coaches that I had. It’s a lot of coaches that I coached with. There’s a lot of personnel that’s still there, guys that I coached, guy that was in my wedding. There’s a lot of people back there that I’m familiar with and have a lot of respect for,” the returning star stated in his presser.
This will be the first game in conference play for the Vols this season and they currently sit as 7-point favorites ahead of the college gameday headline game of the week!
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Tennessee
How to Watch No. 15 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Tennessee
A week three years in the making has finally arrived in Norman.
The eyes of the college football world will be on No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0) as the Sooners open up SEC play for the first time against No. 6 Tennessee (3-0).
College GameDay will be on hand in Norman for just the second time since 2012 to see the Sooners’ last national championship winning quarterback, Josh Heupel, lead another program onto Owen Field.
Come 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Brent Venables’ team will meet its biggest test of the young season.
The Volunteers have destroyed all challengers thus far, beating Chattanooga, NC State and Kent State by a combined score of 201-13.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava deservedly gets a lot of credit pulling the strings in Heupel’s offense, but Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr. may have the biggest impact on Saturday’s game.
Pearce, who had 10 sacks a year ago, won’t have to wait long to hear his named called in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he leads one of the nation’s best defensive lines.
Oklahoma’s offense was always going to have its hands full with the Tennessee front, but those concerns are magnified by the issues the Sooners have had in the trenches through the first three games.
Bill Bedenbaugh’s unit has had to navigate youth and injuries, and the Sooners rolled out yet a different combination up front for a majority of the 34-19 win over Tulane.
Redshirt freshman Heath Ozaeta was inserted at left guard, which bounced Jacob Sexton to left tackle, which helped OU’s offense improve from a lethargic performance abasing Houston.
Quarterback Jackson Arnold rushed for 97 yards and two scores, and the offense totaled 182 yards on the ground total.
Arnold also completed 18-of-29 passes for 169 yards and a score, though he did through a nearly catastrophic pick six that pulled Tulane within one score to start the fourth quarter.
While Oklahoma’s offense has been a roller coaster to open the season, Venables and defensive coordinator Zac Alley’s unit has been consistently excellent.
The Sooners contained a talented Green Wave offense, and stepped up in the fourth quarter to hold onto the lead for the second straight week.
It was defensive tackle Gracen Halton who made the key play against Houston, a safety that effectively ended the game.
Last Saturday, it was defensive end R Mason Thomas’ turn.
He took over the fourth quarter, tracking down Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah for three sacks, one of which was a strip sack where Thomas also recovered the fumble, and he also batted a ball down at the line of scrimmage to force a fourth-and-15.
Heupel’s Tennessee offense will be an entirely different animal for OU’s defense, however.
Iamaleava has had plenty of time to throw behind an experienced offensive line, and he’s completed 48-of-57 passes for 698 yards, six scores and two interceptions. The redshirt freshman has also run for 102 yards and a score on 17 carries in 2024.
Saturday’s SEC debut for the Sooners will be broadcast on ABC.
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