Black Census
The Black Population of the United States: Size, Definitions, and Distribution
The Black population of the United States totals 52.8 million — 15.4 percent of the nation. How the Census Bureau defines and counts the population, and where it lives.
Black Median Household Income in the United States
Black median household income stands at $56,490 in the Census Bureau's annual income report — how the figure is measured, how it compares, and what drives it.
The Black Poverty Rate: Levels, Children, and the Long Trend
The official Black poverty rate is 17.1 percent — against 11.1 percent nationally and 7.7 percent for non-Hispanic White Americans. How poverty is measured and what the data show.
The Black Homeownership Rate: The Gap and Its History
The Black homeownership rate stands at 44.7 percent, against 72.4 percent for White households — a gap wider than when discrimination in housing was legal. The data and its drivers.
Black Population in Texas: Size, Cities, and Growth
Texas holds the largest Black population of any state — about four million people, roughly one in seven Texans. The census profile of Black Texas.
Black Population in Georgia: One in Three Georgians
About 3.6 million Black Georgians — roughly one in three residents — make Georgia one of the most Black states in the union by share and by scale. The census profile.
Black Population in Florida: The Second-Largest State Total
About 3.7 million Black Floridians — the second-largest state Black population — span Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and a South Florida corridor with America's largest Haitian community.
Black Households and Family Structure in the Census Data
About 15 million Black households: how they are composed — married couples, single householders, multigenerational homes — and how the data have changed.
Black Population in New York State: City, Suburbs, and Upstate
About 3.6 million Black New Yorkers — roughly 18 percent of the state — split between the great metro, its suburbs, and a chain of upstate cities. The census profile.
Black Population in Mississippi: The Highest Share in America
Mississippi is the Blackest state in the union by share — about 38 percent Black in combination — with majority-Black counties across the Delta. The census profile.
Black Population in California: A Shrinking Share of a Growing State
About 2.8 million Black Californians — roughly 7 percent of the state — face the series' clearest case of growth without share: numbers hold, proportion falls, and many leave for Texas and the South.
The Foreign-Born Black Population: One in Ten Black Americans
About 5.1 million Black immigrants — one in ten Black Americans — have remade the population's composition. The Pew and Census data on origins, settlement, and attainment.
Black Population in North Carolina: One in Four, Still Growing
About 2.5 million Black North Carolinians — just under one in four residents — anchor Charlotte, the Triad, and the Research Triangle. The census profile of a growth state.
Black Population in Alabama: The Black Belt State
About 1.4 million Black Alabamians — more than one in four residents — span Birmingham, Montgomery, and the Black Belt counties. The census profile.
Black Population in South Carolina: From Majority to One in Four
About 1.45 million Black South Carolinians — more than one in four residents — in a state that was majority Black into the twentieth century. The census profile.
Black Population in Louisiana: One in Three, Rooted Deep
About 1.55 million Black Louisianans — nearly one in three residents — from New Orleans' Creole parishes to the northern cotton country. The census profile.
Black Population in Virginia: Where American Slavery Began
About 1.85 million Black Virginians — one in five residents — in the state where the first enslaved Africans arrived in 1619 and where Richmond was slavery's industrial capital.
Black Seniors: The Aging of Black America
About six million Black Americans are 65 or older — a share that will grow faster than any other segment of the population. The census data on Black aging.
Black Population in Illinois: Chicago and the Small Majorities
About 2 million Black Illinoisans — roughly one in six residents — from Chicago's South Side to East St. Louis, one of America's most heavily Black cities.
Black Population in Ohio: The Lake and River Cities
About 1.65 million Black Ohioans — one in seven residents — across Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, and the industrial cities of the lake and river.
Black Population in Tennessee: Memphis, Nashville, and the River
About 1.25 million Black Tennesseans — nearly one in five residents — across Memphis, Nashville's HBCU row, and the state's river cities. The census profile.
Black Population in Arkansas: The Delta's Western Shore
About 490,000 Black Arkansans — one in six residents — from Little Rock and Pine Bluff to the Delta counties across the river from Mississippi. The census profile.
Black Population in Kentucky: Louisville and the Border State
About 420,000 Black Kentuckians — nearly one in ten residents — centered on Louisville, in a state that stayed in the Union while holding slavery. The census profile.
Black Population in Missouri: Between St. Louis and Kansas City
About 785,000 Black Missourians — nearly one in eight residents — anchored by two great river metros at the state's two ends. The census profile.
Black Population in Indiana: Indianapolis and the Calumet
About 750,000 Black Hoosiers — one in nine residents — between Indianapolis's near-third and Gary's heavy majority in the Calumet region. The census profile.
Black Population in Wisconsin: Milwaukee's Weight
About 430,000 Black Wisconsinites — one in fourteen residents — with the large majority in Milwaukee, among America's most segregated metros. The census profile.
Black Population in Maryland: The Northernmost Southern State
About 2 million Black Marylanders — nearly one in three residents, the highest share outside the Deep South — from Baltimore to Prince George's County. The census profile.
Black Population in New Jersey: Newark and the Corridor
About 1.45 million Black New Jerseyans — one in six residents — along the New York–Philadelphia corridor, from Newark to Camden. The census profile.
Black Population in Pennsylvania: Between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
About 1.66 million Black Pennsylvanians — one in eight residents — anchored by the nation's sixth-largest Black metro and the two oldest HBCUs. The census profile.
Black Population in Michigan: Detroit's State
About 1.55 million Black Michiganders — nearly one in six residents — with more than half in metro Detroit and a belt of heavily Black small cities beyond. The census profile.
Black Population in Arizona: The Desert's Fast Growth
About 460,000 Black Arizonans — one in sixteen residents — in one of the fastest-growing Black populations of any state. The census profile.
Black Population in Minnesota: The Twin Cities' Two Stories
About 495,000 Black Minnesotans — one in twelve residents — holding both the nation's largest Somali community and some of its widest outcome gaps. The census profile.
Black Population in Colorado: The Front Range Community
About 285,000 Black Coloradans — one in twenty residents — concentrated along the Front Range from Denver to Colorado Springs. The census profile.
Black Population in Connecticut: Wealth Next Door to Want
About 460,000 Black Connecticut residents — one in eight — in the state of America's sharpest rich-poor adjacency. The census profile.
Black Population in Delaware: A Fifth of the First State
About 245,000 Black Delawareans — nearly a quarter of the state — anchored by Wilmington and one of the East's oldest HBCUs. The census profile.
Black Population in Oklahoma: Greenwood's State
About 390,000 Black Oklahomans — one in ten residents — between Oklahoma City, Tulsa's historic Greenwood, and the all-Black towns. The census profile.
Black Population in West Virginia: The Coalfield Communities
About 90,000 Black West Virginians — one in twenty residents — in a small, old population rooted in the coalfields and two HBCUs. The census profile.
Black Population in Kansas: Exodusters to the Air Capital
About 235,000 Black Kansans — one in twelve residents — from the Exoduster towns of 1879 to Wichita and Kansas City. The census profile.
Black Population in Nebraska: North Omaha's State
About 140,000 Black Nebraskans — one in fourteen residents — with nearly two-thirds in Omaha and one famous North Side. The census profile.
Black Population in Iowa: Buxton's Ghost and the Packing Towns
About 200,000 Black Iowans — one in sixteen residents — in a state that once held the Midwest's most famous integrated coal town. The census profile.
Black Population in Massachusetts: The Abolitionist's State, Its Oldest Free Communities
About 630,000 Black Massachusetts residents — one in eleven — anchored by Boston, Springfield, and the Commonwealth's abolition-era roots. The census profile.
Black Population in Rhode Island: The Smallest State's Old Ports
About 110,000 Black Rhode Islanders — one in ten residents — in the nation's smallest state, with Black port communities older than the republic. The census profile.
Black Population in Vermont: The First Graduate's State
About 15,000 Black Vermonters — one in forty residents — in the state that produced America's first Black college graduate. The census profile.
Black Population in New Hampshire: Portsmouth's Burial Ground, Manchester's Newcomers
About 35,000 Black New Hampshire residents — one in forty — between a colonial port community and a resettled mill city. The census profile.
Black Population in Maine: Portland, Lewiston, and the Somali Chapter
About 45,000 Black Maine residents — one in thirty — built largely by refugee resettlement in two small cities. The census profile.
Black Population in New Mexico: Blackdom and the Buffalo Soldiers' Ground
About 75,000 Black New Mexicans — one in twenty-eight residents — between Albuquerque and a frontier history of Black towns and regiments. The census profile.
Black Population in Utah: Jane Manning's Long Road
About 70,000 Black Utahns — one in forty-seven residents — in the fastest-growing small Black population of the Mountain West. The census profile.
Black Population in Hawaii: The Pacific's Military and Maritime Community
About 55,000 Black Hawaii residents — one in twenty-six — in the most multiracial state in the nation, where most Black residents also claim another race. The census profile.
Black Population in Alaska: The Highway the Black Regiments Built
About 50,000 Black Alaska residents — one in fifteen — from the Black engineers who built the Alaska Highway to America's most diverse neighborhood. The census profile.
Black Population in Montana: The Bicycle Corps and the Smallest Map
About 13,000 Black Montana residents — one in eighty — the smallest share in the nation, with a history written by Buffalo Soldiers. The census profile.
Black Population in Idaho: River Street and the Boise Resettlement Hub
About 32,000 Black Idaho residents — one in fifty-seven — between Boise's historic River Street and a refugee hub's new generation. The census profile.
Black Population in Wyoming: The Least Populous State's Smallest Community
About 12,000 Black Wyoming residents — one in forty-eight — in the nation's least populous state, rooted in its forts and railroads. The census profile.
Black Population in North Dakota: Fargo's New Americans and the Oil Patch
About 42,000 Black North Dakota residents — one in nineteen — in the fastest-transforming small population in the northern plains. The census profile.
Black Population in South Dakota: Sioux Falls and the Lost Boys' Landing
About 32,000 Black South Dakota residents — one in twenty-eight — centered on Sioux Falls, where the 'Lost Boys' of Sudan made their American home. The census profile.
Black Population in Nevada: The Mountain West's Largest Share
About 385,000 Black Nevada residents — one in eight — the highest Black share of any Mountain West state, built by the Las Vegas economy. The census profile.
Black Population in Washington: Seattle's Gravity and the Bases
About 490,000 Black Washington residents — one in sixteen — centered on Seattle–Tacoma and the Joint Base Lewis-McChord corridor. The census profile.
Black Population in Oregon: The Exclusion State's Long Correction
About 195,000 Black Oregon residents — one in twenty-two — in the only state admitted to the Union with a Black exclusion clause in its constitution. The census profile.
Black Children and Youth: The Youngest Fifth of Black America
About 14 million Black Americans are under 18 — a younger population than the nation's, with its own geography, composition, and data. The census profile.
Black Grandparents and Kinship Care: The Multigenerational Safety Net in the Data
Black grandparents form about a fifth of America's grandparent caregivers from an eighth of the population — the kinship layer of the household data.
Black Suburbanization: The Majority Now Lives in the Suburbs
A majority of Black Americans in large metros now live in suburbs — the defining Black geographic shift of the past half-century. The census data.
Black Rural America: The Black Belt, the Colonias of the Delta, and the Small Towns
About one in ten Black Americans lives in rural America — concentrated in the Black Belt crescent from Virginia to Texas. The census profile.
Black Americans with Disabilities: One in Four Adults
About a quarter of Black adults report a disability in the federal health surveys — the intersection of the disability and race data.
Black LGBTQ Americans: The Williams Institute Population Data
An estimated 1.4 million Black adults identify as LGBTQ in the Williams Institute's data — about one in eight Black adults. The demographic profile.
Black Retirement: Social Security's Outsized Role
Social Security provides half or more of income for a majority of Black retirees — the retirement system's load-bearing wall. The SSA and Census data.
African Immigrants in the United States: The Fastest-Growing Black Stream
About 2.4 million Black immigrants were born in Africa — the fastest-growing segment of Black America, with the highest education rates in the file. The Pew and Census data.
Food Insecurity in Black Households: One in Five
About one in five Black households experiences food insecurity in the USDA's annual measurement — double the national rate. The food security data.
Getting There: Black Households, Cars, and Transit
Black households are three to four times likelier to have no car — in a country built for drivers. The Census transportation and commuting data.
Black Religion: The Church in the Data
About three-quarters of Black Americans identify as Christian, and the Black church remains the community's most durable institution. The Pew religious landscape data.
Black America by Generation: From the Silent Generation to Gen Alpha
Black America's median age is about 34 — younger than the nation's — and each generation's data describe a different country. The generational profile.
Languages of Black America: Spanish, Creole, French, and the African Tongues
About one in eight Black Americans speaks a language other than English at home. The ACS language data behind the multilingual community.
Black America's Future in the Projections: Growth to Mid-Century
The Census Bureau projects the Black population to keep growing through 2060, aging as it grows, on immigration and the youngest cohorts. The official projections data.