WASHINGTON — Four of the 10 most culturally diverse communities are in D.C.’s Maryland suburbs, and as a state, Maryland ranks among the biggest for foreign-born residents, according to a new study.

When ranked among smaller, independent cities, Germantown, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring and Rockville rank as the top four for cultural diversity, based on things such as ethnic mix, language diversity and residents born outside the U.S., according to WalletHub research. A smaller city was defined as one with fewer than 100,000 people.

When ranked among all cities in the United States, all four make the top 10.

Only Jersey City, New Jersey, ranks above No. 2-ranked Germantown on the top 10 list of most culturally diverse cities, the research found.

The WalletHub research says 15.27 percent of Maryland’s residents were born in a foreign nation. California leads that category at 27.4 percent.

The foreign-born populations in D.C. and Virginia also rank high, at 14.26 percent and 12.22 percent, respectively.

WalletHub estimates by 2044, no single ethnic group will constitute the majority in the U.S. for the first time.

You can see the research’s full findings and methodology on WalletHub’s website.

The following map contains more on the study’s findings: