The 10 Cities In The United States With The Largest Black Population For 2024


The most African American cities in the United States are Jackson, MS and Detroit, MI for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most African American cities in the United States research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities with the highest percentage of black residents for 2024. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2018-2022 vintage, which breaks down race by origin.

  • The city with the highest percentage of African Americans is Jackson, MS. 81.95% of people in Jackson, MS are black.

  • The city with the lowest percentage of African Americans is Brownsville, TX. 0.27% of people in Brownsville, TX are black.

  • The city with the most African Americans is New York, NY. 1,810,769 people in New York, NY are black.

  • The city with the fewest African Americans is East Los Angeles, CA. 498 people in East Los Angeles, CA are black.

  • The United States has 40,146,392 African Americans and is 12.13% black.

Most African American Cities In The United States Map


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


What city would you guess has the largest African American population?

For us, we immediately figured it’d have to be somewhere in the South — while it’s trending away from it, the majority of the African American population in America lives in the South.

And we figured it HAS to be a BIG city, right? Seems like that would have a better chance than a smaller city of being more diverse.

Well, take a second for you to guess.

Ok, cool, well, we were half right — it’s in the South but not all that big.

The city with the largest percentage of African Americans? Jackson, MS.

Our intuition served us pretty well with one big old glaring exception at the top — Detroit. Detroit has been a predominately African American city for years. It’s an economic hub in the Midwest for African Americans.

Read on to see how we calculated the most African American cities in America based on the most recent Census data.

For more reading, check out:

The 10 Most African American Cities In The United States For 2024

Jackson, MS

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 153,271
Percent African American: 82.0%
Percent African American 2010: 78.0%
Percent Change: -8.3%
More on Jackson: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

So here we go all the way to our blackest city in America, Jackson Mississippi. The capital of Mississippi has a black population that is 81.95%. Jackson is also growing its African American population. Ten years ago, this city was 78% black.

Now, let’s compare Jackson Mississippi to Jackson, Wyoming, the little city we talked about earlier. There are 137,000 African Americans in Jackson Mississippi, and only 38 black Americans in Jackson Wyoming.

Like all of the other cities in our list, Jackson has a storied history within the African American community. Civil rights leader Charles Evers is from Jackson. Musician Bo Diddley is from Jackson. BB King, James Earl Jones and Jerry Rice is too.

Review Of Jackson by HomeSnacks User

I love Jackson, MS I was born and raised here. I love how you can’t even walk down the streets because Jamal or Tyrone might have had a bad day and decide he wants to end your life. I also like all of the homeless harassing me for money and urinating in front of my family and I. The city government is also a haram of idiots pretending to be competent leaders who can’t even maintain roads and water lines. I also love how you can’t even go to a decently priced restaurant without hearing Tyrone and Shanequa having a screaming match or just screaming for fun. If you have to move here I advise a trip to a gun store. It’s a great place, everyone should move here.

My favorite place is when I leave on vacation to somewhere out side of the ghetto

Review Jackson

Detroit, MI

Source: Wikipedia User User:AE at Quicken Loans | CC BY-SA 1.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 636,787
Percent African American: 77.4%
Percent African American 2010: 82.4%
Percent Change: -21.2%
More on Detroit: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Oh man we gotta haul this time. We just got word that our second blackest city in America is Detroit.. Detroit has several interesting facts. First, it’s 77.41% black, which is actually -21.22% less black than it was ten years ago. Additionally, it’s the only city north of the Mason Dixon line to be on this list. Lastly, Detroit has by far the biggest overall number of black Americans of any other city at 750,000.

Detroit has Motown Records, which was a predominately African American music label in the 60s. Not too far away from Detroit is Battle Creek, Michigan, home to many large cereal factories.

The black population is 13 times more likely to buy sugary cereals than any other race.

Review Of Detroit by HomeSnacks User

Despite the downfalls the city has/is facing it is still a place full of culture and history. I LOVE the fact that they are so sports orientated. I grew up being a huge fan of sports and there is no bigger sports town than Detroit. Redwings, Pistons, Tigers and Lions are all supported with large amounts of pride!

Joe Louis Arena, Comerica Park, the new football and hockey arenas. The hockeytown cafe all the casinos and the theater. There is so much history and so much pride in the historical places still!

Review Detroit

Birmingham, AL

Source: Flickr User argusfoto | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 200,431
Percent African American: 68.4%
Percent African American 2010: 73.8%
Percent Change: -14.1%
More on Birmingham: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

We’re gonna hop back in the car as we take a stroll to our next blackest city in America, Birmingham, Alabama. In Birmingham, the black population is 68.43%, which is a little lower than it was just 10 years ago.

There were a lot of civil rights protests here in the early 60s, which drew the attention of the national media. A ton of black Americans were arrested while standing up for their rights, including Martin Luther King Jr. You can bet if there was a Twitter back then, it would’ve blown up. That’s because black people use Twitter more than any other race.

Review Of Birmingham by KÄ«romu Soda

I live in Birmingham and I’m moving to a different part now but a WEEK ago my mom pulled up to the gas station and my mom told me don’t get out * while locking the doors * because these two sketchy a*s guys were there and I was wearing my fursuit so they are like meow meow I am awkwardly laughing but after one of them look in my window because I rolled it down my window about 2 inches and one said I’ll take you to my house and we can have so much fun looking toward my b*****s after that my mom rolled up the windows and we got the h**l out of there did I mention it’s was 12:54AM

Review Birmingham

Memphis, TN

Source: Wikipedia User Thomas R Machnitzki | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 630,027
Percent African American: 64.1%
Percent African American 2010: 62.4%
Percent Change: -1.1%
More on Memphis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Moving on, we’re going to head up to our next blackest city in America, Memphis.

Here in Memphis, the black population is 64.1%, which is slightly higher than it was 10 years ago. Additionally, Memphis has the second most black Americans of any other US city, at more than 400,000.

Memphis is home to the place where Dr Martin Luther King was filled. It was one of the worst days in American history. The National Civil Rights Museum is also here. That’s a very important place.

Review Of Memphis by Suntan Superman

I live in memphis and beem here my whole life. Not all of the people of memphis drink, smoke, and or have a gun

Review Memphis

Miami Gardens, FL

Source: Wikipedia User Pietro | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 111,618
Percent African American: 62.6%
Percent African American 2010: 74.3%
Percent Change: -11.0%
More on Miami Gardens: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

We’re going to remain in the south as we come to our fifth blackest city in America, Miami Gardens. This is a suburb of Miami. Here in Miami Gardens, the black population is 62.62%, which is actually -10.97% less than it was 10 years ago. Additionally, Miami Gardens is about 25% Latino – mostly Cuban and Dominican.

So you can expect to hear a lot of cuban music and rap here. Why rap? Because it’s one of the most popular musical styles of black Americans. What famous black rappers are from Florida? Well, there’s Flo Rida to start. There’s also T-Pain, Mace, and Lil Pump.

Montgomery, AL

Source: Wikipedia User User:TantalumTelluride | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 199,819
Percent African American: 62.5%
Percent African American 2010: 55.4%
Percent Change: 10.1%
More on Montgomery: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Moving on, good news again – we’re not gonna have to drive very far at all to get to our next blackest city in the USA, Montgomery, Alabama. Here in Montgomery, the black population is 62.52%. Montgomery also has a 10.14% greater African American population now than it did just 10 years ago.

The National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture is in Montgomery, that’s cool. And of course, Montgomery is home to the Montgomery bus boycott back in 1956. It was started by Rosa Parks, who refused to go to the back of the bus. The bus boycott drew a lot of attention, and lasted an entire year. As such, eventually, it helped get the buses desegregated.

Baltimore, MD

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 584,548
Percent African American: 60.6%
Percent African American 2010: 64.0%
Percent Change: -10.7%
More on Baltimore: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Alright, so it’s time to pile into the car and drive pretty far this time. It took a while, but here we are, pulling into Baltimore.

As the seventh blackest city in America, Baltimore is 60.65% black. Also interesting of note is that about 1,000 more black Americans leave Baltimore than come in every year. Where are they moving? Interesting.

Review Of Baltimore by HomeSnacks User

The city has a crime problem, but the citizens of Baltimore are actively working to make their city better. Inner Harbor is beautiful, of course, but the city as a whole is crammed with interesting places to eat and shop. Some of the markets are excellent for people-watching as well as shopping.

Patapsco flea market! Seafood! Ram’s Head Live! Reasonable parking rates!

Review Baltimore

New Orleans, LA

Source: Flickr User szeke | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 380,408
Percent African American: 56.7%
Percent African American 2010: 59.4%
Percent Change: 22.9%
More on New Orleans: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Our next blackest state in America, New Orleans has an african american population of 56.67%. That’s actually slightly lower than it was 10 years ago, despite the fact that 50,000 blacks moved to New Orleans in the last decade. That means New Orleans is growing fast, and it’s attracting many different races.

Now, New Orleans definitely has a long and storied black history. New Orleans is home to jazz music, which was invented by the black community. The food here is also heavily influenced by the black population. Gumbo was brought to America from West Africa. Same goes for religion and clothing. In fact, when the slaves came to New Orleans a long time ago, all of the various tribes and cultural backgrounds melted into one big mix of different African cultures.

What about dance? Popular black dance styles are tap dance, the cakewalk, the charleston, the jitterbug, popping, locking, the worm, the electric slide.

Review Of New Orleans by HomeSnacks User

Becoming difficult for locals to find affordable rentals.

Beautiful city, always something new to learn, like a secret lover.

Review New Orleans

Shreveport, LA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 186,183
Percent African American: 56.5%
Percent African American 2010: 53.7%
Percent Change: -1.2%
More on Shreveport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Moving on, we’re going to visit our next blackest city in America. Let’s drive to the ninth most african american city in America, Shreveport, Louisiana. Here in Shreveport, the black population is 56.53%, only slightly higher than in Augusta. That is -1.17% lower than it was only ten years ago. There are a handful of cities in Louisiana that rank high on this list.

Makes sense, since Louisiana is the second blackest state in the US, with a 32% African American population.

Review Of Shreveport by Pam BB

I live in Shreveport,Louisiana. The past few years Shreveport has attained the nickname, The Ratchet City. I’m sorry to say that ratchet pretty much says it all. But I love Louisiana. It’s really a great state. The people here are down to earth good folks. They will welcome a stranger and feed you the best food you’ve ever had! It’s hard to find better food anywhere than Louisiana. If you love jazz, like I do, New Orleans is the place to be. But yes, Shreveport is not the city I grew up in. I’ve been here 61 years and it is sad to see how things have changed. It’s really strange how even through the ugliness the hearts of the people are still filled with love.

Review Shreveport

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 201,615
Percent African American: 55.7%
Percent African American 2010: 53.8%
Percent Change: 7.9%
More on Augusta-Richmond County Consolidated Government (Balance): Data | Real Estate

We finish our tour of the blackest cities in America in Augusta, Georgia. Now, seeing as Georgia is the third blackest state, this isn’t a surprise. In Augusta, the black population is 55.68%. That’s 7.86% higher than it was in 2010.

Let’s be real – Georgia is a very black state. Overall, 31% people who live in the state are black. Augusta is the blackest city in Atlanta, but Savannah – at 54% and Atlanta at 52% – are the 12th and 13th blackest cities. So, Georgia has three of the 13 blackest cities.

To put that into perspective, America’s least black city in America is Jackson, Wyoming, which is .4% black. There are 9,500 people in Jackson, which means there are only 38 African Americans in this entire place.

Methodology: How We Determined The Most African American Large Cities in The US

When we analyze what it’s like to live in a city in the US, we use Saturday Night Science to compare statistics. In particular, we can look to the recently released 2018-2022 American Community Survey for a detailed breakdown of race by city.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002 which has the breakdown of people by Hispanic/latino and race.

Limiting our analysis to only cities greater than 100,000 people, we looked at the percentage of the population of each city that identified as non-Hispanic/Latino, black.

We then ranked each city from 1 to 273 in terms of that percentage with the city having the highest overall percentage being named the “City In America with the Largest African American population” — Jackson, MS. We updated this article for 2024. This article is our tenth time ranking the cities in America with the highest African American population.

The “least African American” city according to the data? That would be Brownsville, TX which is only 0.27 African American as of the latest data.

Summary: The Most African American Big Cities in America

Based on recent trends, the South might not continue to dominate this list in the years to come — well, maybe decades — as more Northern and Western cities continue attracting large swaths of the black population.

The cities in the United States with the highest African American population are Jackson, MS, Detroit, MI, Birmingham, AL, Memphis, TN, Miami Gardens, FL, Montgomery, AL, Baltimore, MD, New Orleans, LA, Shreveport, LA, and Augusta-Richmond County Consolidated Government (Balance), GA.

But until then, we’ll keep seeing Southern cities at the top of the list.

And for those playing at home, here’s a look at the least African American cities in America:

  1. Brownsville, TX
  2. Laredo, TX
  3. East Los Angeles, CA

For more reading, check out:

African American Population By City In America

Rank City Population Black Population % Black
1 Jackson, MS 153,271 125,609 82.0%
2 Detroit, MI 636,787 492,956 77.4%
3 Birmingham, AL 200,431 137,147 68.4%
4 Memphis, TN 630,027 403,837 64.1%
5 Miami Gardens, FL 111,618 69,892 62.6%
6 Montgomery, AL 199,819 124,930 62.5%
7 Baltimore, MD 584,548 354,555 60.6%
8 New Orleans, LA 380,408 215,595 56.7%
9 Shreveport, LA 186,183 105,251 56.5%
10 Augusta-Richmond County Consolidated Government (Balance), GA 201,615 112,265 55.7%
11 Mobile, AL 186,316 98,613 52.9%
12 Baton Rouge, LA 225,500 118,256 52.4%
13 Savannah, GA 147,583 76,365 51.7%
14 Hampton, VA 137,217 65,904 48.0%
15 Atlanta, GA 494,838 233,169 47.1%
16 Columbus, GA 204,572 93,648 45.8%
17 Cleveland, OH 370,365 169,520 45.8%
18 Newark, NJ 307,355 139,440 45.4%
19 Beaumont, TX 114,573 51,892 45.3%
20 Miramar, FL 135,158 60,386 44.7%
21 Richmond, VA 227,171 99,372 43.7%
22 St. Louis, MO 298,018 130,231 43.7%
23 Washington, DC 670,587 291,880 43.5%
24 Greensboro, NC 297,202 126,489 42.6%
25 Little Rock, AR 202,218 83,827 41.5%
26 Fayetteville, NC 208,697 86,376 41.4%
27 Newport News, VA 185,118 75,088 40.6%
28 Columbia, SC 136,754 54,920 40.2%
29 Norfolk, VA 236,973 94,925 40.1%
30 Cincinnati, OH 308,870 121,454 39.3%
31 Philadelphia, PA 1,593,208 620,615 39.0%
32 Inglewood, CA 106,806 40,991 38.4%
33 Milwaukee, WI 573,299 218,327 38.1%
34 Dayton, OH 137,305 52,010 37.9%
35 Durham, NC 284,094 101,750 35.8%
36 Rochester, NY 210,992 75,380 35.7%
37 Tallahassee, FL 198,259 69,700 35.2%
38 Killeen, TX 153,708 53,795 35.0%
39 Charlotte, NC 875,045 303,980 34.7%
40 Hartford, CT 121,057 41,103 34.0%
41 Winston-Salem, NC 249,571 80,940 32.4%
42 Buffalo, NY 276,688 89,295 32.3%
43 High Point, NC 114,120 36,331 31.8%
44 Huntsville, AL 215,025 64,878 30.2%
45 Jacksonville, FL 950,203 285,926 30.1%
46 Akron, OH 190,273 55,743 29.3%
47 Chattanooga, TN 181,288 52,845 29.1%
48 Pompano Beach, FL 111,790 32,576 29.1%
49 Lafayette, LA 121,706 35,366 29.1%
50 Columbus, OH 902,449 261,409 29.0%
51 Fort Lauderdale, FL 182,673 52,868 28.9%
52 Chesapeake, VA 249,377 71,264 28.6%
53 Indianapolis, IN 882,006 251,434 28.5%
54 Chicago, IL 2,721,914 771,853 28.4%
55 New Haven, CT 135,736 38,040 28.0%
56 Toledo, OH 269,962 74,900 27.7%
57 Raleigh, NC 465,517 127,830 27.5%
58 Syracuse, NY 146,134 39,767 27.2%
59 Nashville, TN 684,103 181,355 26.5%
60 Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (Balance), GA 126,672 33,448 26.4%
61 Peoria, IL 113,054 29,831 26.4%
62 Kansas City, MO 505,958 131,517 26.0%
63 Waterbury, CT 114,480 29,181 25.5%
64 South Bend, IN 103,084 25,691 24.9%
65 Mesquite, TX 149,439 36,622 24.5%
66 Louisville, KY 629,176 148,787 23.6%
67 Coral Springs, FL 133,801 31,634 23.6%
68 Paterson, NJ 157,864 37,119 23.5%
69 Dallas, TX 1,300,642 302,925 23.3%
70 Pittsburgh, PA 303,843 70,162 23.1%
71 Lansing, MI 112,986 26,000 23.0%
72 Clarksville, TN 167,882 38,289 22.8%
73 Grand Prairie, TX 197,279 44,581 22.6%
74 Arlington, TX 393,469 87,935 22.4%
75 Orlando, FL 307,738 68,489 22.3%
76 Houston, TX 2,296,253 505,308 22.0%
77 Kansas City, KS 155,438 33,441 21.5%
78 Gainesville, FL 142,414 30,593 21.5%
79 Rockford, IL 148,173 31,677 21.4%
80 Oakland, CA 437,825 93,447 21.3%
81 North Las Vegas, NV 264,022 55,905 21.2%
82 Boston, MA 665,945 139,962 21.0%
83 New York, NY 8,622,467 1,810,769 21.0%
84 Alexandria, VA 157,594 32,867 20.9%
85 Lancaster, CA 171,465 35,448 20.7%
86 Tampa, FL 388,768 79,976 20.6%
87 Pembroke Pines, FL 170,472 34,735 20.4%
88 Springfield, IL 114,214 22,961 20.1%
89 Jersey City, NJ 287,899 57,250 19.9%
90 Waco, TX 140,545 27,882 19.8%
91 St. Petersburg, FL 259,343 51,404 19.8%
92 Warren, MI 138,588 27,407 19.8%
93 Bridgeport, CT 148,470 29,156 19.6%
94 Fort Worth, TX 924,663 174,538 18.9%
95 Minneapolis, MN 426,877 78,427 18.4%
96 Virginia Beach, VA 457,900 83,534 18.2%
97 Charleston, SC 149,960 27,191 18.1%
98 Stamford, CT 135,413 24,415 18.0%
99 Vallejo, CA 125,132 22,326 17.8%
100 Richmond, CA 115,619 20,540 17.8%

African American Places By State

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

3 thoughts on “The 10 Cities In The United States With The Largest Black Population For 2024

  1. Thank you for this interesting information.

    I have one suggestion, if I may.
    The beginning of your article/information you ask a question in a misleading way, at best, and incorrectly, at worst.

    This is your articles headline and title:
    “These Are The 10 Cities In America With The Largest Black Population For 2019

    “We used science and data to determine which cities in America have the largest African American population.”

    Then, you ask the readers this question:
    “What city would you guess has the largest African American population?”

    Scientifically speaking, mathematically speaking, and logically speaking, there is a major difference and distinction between asking, “What city has the LARGEST A. American population?”, vs ,”What city’s population has the greatest percentage of A. American population?”

    Thus, the way the initial question was asked, even a person with decent knowledge of the American population will be thrown way off the track as to the actual answer you are looking for.

    Your answer, and your data chart do not show which cities have the largest or greatest A. American population. Your data chart shows which cities have the greatest percentage of a city’s population, who are A. American.

    So, the correct answer to your actual question is New York City, NY with a
    black/A. American population of over 2 million people.

    In stark contrast, even though Jackson, MS has the greatest percentage of it’s population being black/A. Americans, the total black/A. American population is almost 139,000. And that is far less than over 2 million in NYC.

    BTW, your question and answer is commonly confused, as is evidenced on multiple websites that also incorrectly conflate, “highest/greatest percentage”, vs, “largest number”.

  2. Thank you Tome. This issue is so much more complicated than the author would suggest. I appreciate your observations. But even then, the issue of the metropolitan area and populations further complicate the issue. As the metro area around our urban city cores typically represent white and mobile Americans who may work in and support the city center but chose not live there.

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