By Erin Petenko | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

How the diversity index works

The diversity index is a way of evaluating how racially mixed a population is. It measures the likelihood, on a scale of 0 to 1, of picking two people of different races out of a certain population. A municipality with mostly members of one particular race will score lower than a municipality that is evenly balanced between races.

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How the diversity index works

New Jersey's diversity index is .61, but diversity can vary within counties or even within the same towns. We looked at the towns that scored lowest on the diversity index.

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Most of N.J. towns are still majority white

The latest American Community Survey data shows that New Jersey is 57 percent white, compared to the the national average of 62 percent. But in most towns, white residents are still the largest racial group, while minority residents are either compressed into a small subset of cities or dispersed in small numbers in the white population.

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But it's getting more diverse

While counties varied in diversity and number of minority residents, all of them increased in diversity between the 2005-2009 Census and the 2011-2015 Census. Warren, Cape May and Sussex, each with a diversity index around .20, had the biggest increase in diversity as well.

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10. Cranford, Union County

Cranford has a population of 23,000 that has grown 6 percent between the 2005-2009 Census and the 2011-2015 Census, twice the state average. Although it is still most white, its white population has declined 4 percent.

Note: Percentages may not add to 100 percent because of rounding and other racial groups.

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9. Union City, Hudson County

Union City makes the list for its large Hispanic contingency, which forms 85 percent of its population of 69,000. It has seen a 10 percent increase in population, three times the state average, while its white population has dropped 6 percent.

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8. Washington, Gloucester County

Washington in Gloucester County, with 48,000 residents, has a mostly white population. Its total population shrunk 7 percent between the 2005-2009 snapshot and the 2011-2015 snapshot.

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7. Brick, Ocean County

Brick has a declining population of 75,000, and has seen a recent decrease in its white population timed with an increase in its Hispanic population. But white residents still form 87 percent of its population.

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6. Washington, Morris County

You read that right. Two different Washington municipalities have particularly low values on the diversity index. Washington has a population of 18,700, while its black and Asian population has grown in comparison to its white and Hispanic population.

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5. Raritan, Hunterdon County

Raritan has a population of 22,000 that has declined slightly since the 2005-2009 Census. It has become less diverse during that time period, but has gained slightly in Hispanic residents.

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4. East Orange, Essex County

East Orange makes the list for its large black population, which has increased slightly in the past few years. Overall, however, its population of 65,000 is declining.

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3. Middletown, Monmouth County

Middletown is a mostly white town, with white residents forming 88 percent of its population, which was 66,000 in 2015. Its Hispanic population has grown in comparison to other racial groups, although at one-third the average growth in the state.

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2. Sparta, Sussex County

Sparta has a population of 19,000. While white residents form 88 percent of its population, they have declined 3 percent while black residents have increased.

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1. Berkeley, Ocean County

Berkeley is the least diverse town in the state, with white residents forming 89 percent of its population of 41,000. But it might not stay that way; the white population has declined, while its black and Hispanic populations are increasing.

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(hepingting | Wikimedia Commons)

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