These Are The 10 Arkansas Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2018

The Black community is one of the fastest growing communities in America this decade.

There are now 42 million people who identify as Black or African American living in America, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in Arkansas is 457,822 – at 15.4% of the total population of Arkansas.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census’s race and ethnicity definition. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase impacted Arkansas? Which cities and towns in Arkansas have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Arkansas with the largest African American population in 2018:

1. Pine Bluff (Photos)
2. Helena-West Helena (Photos)
3. Forrest City (Photos)
4. West Memphis (Photos)
5. Blytheville (Photos)
6. Camden (Photos)
7. Osceola (Photos)
8. El Dorado (Photos)
9. Hope (Photos)
10. North Little Rock (Photos)

Pine Bluff took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Arkansas for 2018.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

To see where Arkansas ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in Arkansas or the most diverse places in Arkansas.

How We Determined The Cities In Arkansas With The Largest Black Population For 2018

We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the census. So that’s where we went to get the breakdown of race across Arkansas.

That lead us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2012-2016 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

• Hispanic or Latino
• White alone*
• Black or African American alone*
• American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
• Asian alone*
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
• Some other race alone*
• Two or more races*

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 59 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 76.6% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Pine Bluff took the distinction of being the most Black, while Farmington was the least African American city.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Arkansas ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

1. Pine Bluff

Population: 45,404
% African American: 76.59%
# Of African American Residents: 34,775
Percent Change Since 2010: -4.74%

2. Helena-West Helena

Population: 11,325
% African American: 76.29%
# Of African American Residents: 8,640
Percent Change Since 2010: -9.86%

3. Forrest City

Population: 14,871
% African American: 65.08%
# Of African American Residents: 9,678
Percent Change Since 2010: -5.95%

4. West Memphis

Population: 25,411
% African American: 63.38%
# Of African American Residents: 16,105
Percent Change Since 2010: -0.52%

5. Blytheville

Population: 14,849
% African American: 59.0%
# Of African American Residents: 8,761
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.71%

6. Camden

Population: 11,515
% African American: 55.48%
# Of African American Residents: 6,389
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.35%

7. Osceola

Population: 7,315
% African American: 53.0%
# Of African American Residents: 3,877
Percent Change Since 2010: -0.36%

8. El Dorado

Population: 18,393
% African American: 49.5%
# Of African American Residents: 9,105
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.48%

9. Hope

Population: 9,968
% African American: 44.87%
# Of African American Residents: 4,473
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.29%

10. North Little Rock

Population: 66,042
% African American: 42.51%
# Of African American Residents: 28,072
Percent Change Since 2010: 16.14%

There You Have It – Black Populations Across Arkansas

If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Arkansas according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least African American places in Arkansas:

1. Farmington
2. Greenwood
3. Mena

For more Arkansas reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Worst Places To Live In Arkansas
• These Are The 10 Most Ghetto Cities In Arkansas
• These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In Arkansas According To Science

Detailed List Of The Most African American Cities In Arkansas

City	Rank	Population	% African American
Pine Bluff	1	45,404	76.59%
Helena-West Helena	2	11,325	76.29%
Forrest City	3	14,871	65.08%
West Memphis	4	25,411	63.38%
Blytheville	5	14,849	59.0%
Camden	6	11,515	55.48%
Osceola	7	7,315	53.0%
El Dorado	8	18,393	49.5%
Hope	9	9,968	44.87%
North Little Rock	10	66,042	42.51%
Little Rock	11	197,640	41.63%
Magnolia	12	11,651	39.93%
Warren	13	5,804	39.7%
Monticello	14	9,752	38.58%
Stuttgart	15	9,125	38.47%
Crossett	16	5,272	38.11%
Jacksonville	17	28,661	36.74%
Texarkana	18	30,155	33.91%
Wynne	19	8,195	32.92%
Marion	20	12,323	31.32%
Malvern	21	10,937	31.1%
Newport	22	7,781	28.33%
Arkadelphia	23	10,728	27.93%
Morrilton	24	6,746	20.41%
Sherwood	25	30,251	19.27%
Jonesboro	26	72,638	19.26%
Hot Springs	27	36,711	17.82%
Conway	28	64,184	16.21%
Maumelle	29	17,795	15.57%
White Hall	30	5,243	15.45%
Bryant	31	19,529	9.75%
Fort Smith	32	87,712	9.26%
Searcy	33	23,969	8.92%
Benton	34	33,613	7.07%
De Queen	35	6,657	6.65%
Beebe	36	7,952	6.51%
Fayetteville	37	80,552	6.27%
Russellville	38	29,136	5.48%
Trumann	39	7,143	5.45%
Clarksville	40	9,391	3.98%
Centerton	41	11,403	3.89%
Batesville	42	10,579	3.78%
Springdale	43	76,188	2.67%
Bentonville	44	42,499	2.65%
Pocahontas	45	6,470	2.21%
Van Buren	46	23,155	1.9%
Siloam Springs	47	16,095	1.7%
Alma	48	5,599	1.54%
Paragould	49	27,521	1.3%
Rogers	50	61,979	1.23%
Cabot	51	25,407	1.17%
Heber Springs	52	7,169	0.85%
Harrison	53	13,168	0.84%
Berryville	54	5,370	0.74%
Lowell	55	8,322	0.71%
Mountain Home	56	12,312	0.35%
Mena	57	5,674	0.14%
Greenwood	58	9,296	0.06%
Farmington	59	6,470	0.0%