Picture-perfect Minnesota city was America's whitest in 1980. Here's how its demographic has shifted in the last 46 years

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:19, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 15:26, 18 May 2026 A picture-perfect Minnesota town was crowned America's least diverse community in 1980 as researchers found almost all residents were white people of German descent.  And over four decades later, the city of New Ulm still ranks among the whitest in the nation despite the Land of 10,000 Lakes' demographics changing substantially elsewhere.  The city around 100 miles outside Minneapolis earned the title of America's least diverse city in a study from California State University, which found 99.2 percent of its population was white.  Today, that number still stands at 93 percent, far above many other Minnesota cities that have become considerably more diverse.  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 analyst at the Minnesota State Demographic Center, told the Star Tribune: 'New Ulm is not the least diverse in the U.S.A., but it’s up there.'  Describing the city as a 'very homogenous place by national standards', Howison noted that New Ulm trails behind state and national averages for its diversity.  'They’re somewhat out of step with the larger demographic trends,' Howison said.  The picture-perfect Minnesota town of New Ulm was crowned America's least diverse community in 1980 - and residents say the hub's German roots have helped it maintain its traditions to this day  The town's was named America's whitest in 1980, and its picture-perfect layout still  resembles old American town from decades ago  When the demographics study was conducted in 1980, New Ulm's 99.2 percent white population compared to 96 percent for the rest of Minnesota.  However, today the state's demographics are around 76 percent white, compared to New Ulm's 93 percent.  Across the nation, demographics in the 2020 census show 56 percent of the US population is white, non-Hispanic.  New Ulm is known for its strong ties to its German heritage, and on its own website it describes itself as 'the most German town in America.'  Tourist attractions include an annual Oktoberfest celebration and a number of German breweries.  It is named for the German city of Ulm by German settlers who founded the city in 1854, and many families have remained in the city for generations since.  Darla Gebhard, a historian whose family has lived in New Ulm since the 1870s, told the Star Tribune that the heritage runs so deep, 'You didn't need English in New Ulm' for much of its history.  'Within families, everyone spoke German,' Gebhard said of her childhood in the Minnesota town.   With New Ulm losing its status as the whitest place in America, the new city with that title is St Mary's, Pennsylvania.  Like New Ulm, the city is also known for its high-percentage of German heritage residents.  New Ulm, pictured in 1975, was crowned America's whitest town over four decades ago  Much of New Ulm's architecture and its tourism hotspots are nods to the town's German heritage and culture  New Ulm is known for its German roots, and its tourism industry relies on its annual Oktoberfest events and German breweries  The Mayor of New Ulm, Kathleen Backer  In Minnesota, New Ulm's demographics fell from 99.2 percent white to 93 percent from 1980 to 2020 - a far smaller shift than other Minnesota cities.  In that same time, the town of Willmar went from 98.5 percent white to just 58.9 percent, a dramatic difference in its demographics.  The town of Marshall also fell from 97 percent white to 73.5 percent, and Northfield from 97.3 percent to 74.4 percent.  Gebhard said the key to New Ulm retaining its traditions is its links to German culture, which still fuels much of its tourism industry. 'Why do we cling to our German identity today? It’s because it is worth money,' Gebhard said. 'It’s a business.'  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.