American Communities Project

Crawford County, Iowa, sits at the intersection of two of the biggest issues of the 2026 midterms: tariffs and immigration.

It’s classified as a Hispanic Center in the American Communities Project rubric. In the ACP’s 2025 survey, residents in Hispanic Centers were more likely than the nation as a whole to think recent changes on immigration and tariffs were net negatives for their community.

In Iowa, a Hispanic Center Rumbles with Immigration and Tariff Impacts – American Communities Project Diversity In Iowa, a Hispanic Center Rumbles with Immigration and Tariff Impacts by Dante Chinni May 19, 2026  DENISON, IOWA – You have to zoom in pretty close on a map of Iowa before this town of 8,300 pops into view. Denison, the seat of rural Crawford County, sits amid rolling hills...

Data from the American Communities Project finds that people say their friends and neighbors are quite similar to them. On important measures at the local level — politics, economic status, religious practices, and educational attainment — people don’t seem to feel divided at all. Rather, they seem to feel at home among kindred spirits.

That dichotomy — national diversity and local homogeneity — may be at the center of the deep divisions in the country and a big reason why they will likely be difficult to overcome.

Diverse, Yet Homogenous: Self-Sorting in Today’s America – American Communities Project Diversity Diverse, Yet Homogenous: Self-Sorting in Today’s America by Dante Chinni April 27, 2026 In 2026, the United States is a study in contradictions. In many ways, the nation’s population has never been more diverse or fragmented — in race and ethnicity, in faiths represented, and in lang...