Race, Diversity, and Ethnicity in Shelby County, TN

The map below shows majority race by area in Shelby County, as self-identified on the US census. Darker shades indicate a larger racial majority in that neighborhood. This page also contains data and maps on Shelby County racial diversity and diversity scores. Click here to scroll to diversity data.

Shelby County, TN map of race and ethnicity
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White
Hispanic
Black
Asian
Multiple/Other
WhiteHispanicBlackAsianMultiple/Other
Majority race by area

The majority race in Shelby County overall is black, making up 52.0% of residents. The next most-common racial group is white at 32.7%. There are more black people in the southwest areas of the county. People who identify as white are most likely to be living in the east places. The data below shows how many people identify themselves as each of the following races, which most Americans base on their family's national origin:

Race in Shelby County

 
Self-Identified Race
Shelby County, TN Population
White
32.7%
Hispanic
9.0%
Black
52.0%
Asian
3.0%
Native American
0.0%
Other
3.2%
   

Diversity and Diversity Scores for Shelby County, TN

The map below shows diversity in Shelby County. Areas in green are more diverse, while areas in red are much less diverse. Diversity, in this case, means a mixture of people with different race and ethnicity living close to one another. For example, all-black and all-white areas in the county would both be considered lacking diversity.

Shelby County, TN map of race and ethnicity
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Colorblind friendly off

Shelby County Diversity Score

61.2

More diverse than 93% of US counties

Shelby County has a diversity score of 61.2: the chance, in percent, that two residents picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups, from ACS race counts. A place where everyone shares one group scores 0, and an even mix of the six groups in the chart above scores the maximum, 83.3. Shelby County is much more diverse than other US counties, more diverse than 93% of them. Within Shelby County's proper boundaries, the most diverse area is southeast Shelby County, and the least diverse areas are in southwest Shelby County.

Source: BestNeighborhood calculations from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2020-2024 5-year estimates (race and Hispanic origin); proprietary data mapping and analysis. Special thanks to the University of Virginia.

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