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Which U.S. Cities Are Most and Least 'American'?

Which cities most and least closely resemble the demographics of the rest of the U.S.? A new study from WalletHub puts Nashville, Tennessee on top.
Image: The Nashville, Tenn. downtown area and the Cumberland River on Sept. 27, 2011.
The Nashville, Tenn. downtown area and the Cumberland River on Sept. 27, 2011.Mark Humphrey / AP, file

The concept of what makes a place the most "American" may seem subjective, but personal finance social network WalletHub claims to have found the recipe for what makes a city as American as apple pie.

WalletHub analyzed demographic data such as income, household size and ethnic makeup from 366 major metropolitan areas to statistically "determine which cities mirror the United States more than others."

So, which city is the most red, white and blue? Survey says: Nashville, Tennessee. The Music City most closely matched the U.S. on 26 key metrics studied, making it the most average city in America.

Here are the cities found to most and least resemble the rest of the U.S.:

Most

  1. Nashville, Tennessee
  2. Cincinnati, Ohio
  3. Indianapolis, Indiana
  4. Charleston, South Carolina
  5. Jacksonville, Florida
  6. Greenville, South Carolina
  7. Oklahoma, Oklahoma
  8. Phoenix, Arizona
  9. Albuquerque, New Mexico
  10. Winston, North Carolina

Least

  1. McAllen, Texas
  2. Boulder, Colorado
  3. Altoona, Pennsylvania
  4. Brownsville, Texas
  5. Yuma, Arizona
  6. Ames, Iowa
  7. Johnstown, Pennsylvania
  8. Laredo, Texas
  9. Barnstable, Massachusetts
  10. El Centro, California

The full list can be found on WalletHub's website.

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--Jillian Sederholm