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Background: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) are tests used to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. However, it has been suggested that the MoCA may not be appropriate for diverse populations, and that the relatively newer RUDAS may be better suited as a universal cognitive test. Methods: The MoCA and RUDAS were administered at baseline visits for participants enrolled in the Prospective Registry of Persons with Memory Symptoms (PROMPT). Test scores were compared for patients with different levels of educational attainment, first language, and race using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The difference in MoCA (0.029) and RUDAS (0.0041) scores between patients with different levels of educational attainment (n = 141) was significant. The difference in MoCA (0.62) and RUDAS (0.78) scores between patients with a different first language (n = 141) was not significant. The difference in MoCA (0.64) and RUDAS (0.96) scores between patients of different race (n = 141) was not significant. Conclusions: The difference between MoCA and RUDAS scores remained consistent regardless of level of educational attainment, first language and race. The results suggest that the RUDAS may not be more appropriate than the MoCA in detecting MCI and dementia across diverse populations.