Arkansas Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2020

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

The 10 Blackest Cities In Arkansas For 2020

Pine Bluff is the tenth-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 49,083 in the 2010 Census with 2016 estmates showing a decline to 43,841.

Helena-West Helena is the county seat of and the largest city within Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The current city was consolidated, effective January 1, 2006, from the two Arkansas cities of Helena and West Helena. Helena is sited on lowlands between the Mississippi River and the eastern side of Crowley’s Ridge. West Helena is located on the western side of Crowley’s Ridge, a geographic anomaly in the typically flat Arkansas Delta. The Helena Bridge, one of Arkansas’ four Mississippi River bridges, carries U.S. Route 49 across to Mississippi. The combined population of the two cities was 15,012 at the 2000 census and at the 2010 census, the official population was 12,282.

Forrest City is a city in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States, and the county seat. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, shortly after the Civil War. The population was 15,371 at the 2010 census, an increase from 14,774 in 2000. The city refers to itself as the “Jewel of the Delta”.

Blytheville is the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. Blytheville is approximately 60 miles north of West Memphis. The population was 18,272 at the 2000 census.

West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state’s 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is located directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis.

Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas.

Osceola is a city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. Located along the Mississippi River within the Arkansas delta, the settlement was founded in 1837 and incorporated in 1853. Occupying an important location on the river, the city’s economy grew as steamboat traffic increased. Timber and cotton harvesting would develop, and the city experienced rapid growth and development throughout the early 20th century. The city’s economy has since diversified to include a robust industrial sector. The population was 7,757 at the 2010 census.

North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States, across the Arkansas River from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 62,304 at the 2010 census. North Little Rock, along with Little Rock and Conway, anchors the six-county Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is further included in the Little Rock-North Little Rock Combined Statistical Area with 902,443 residents.

Magnolia is a city in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 11,577. The city is the county seat of Columbia County.

How We Determined The Cities In Arkansas With The Largest Black Population For 2020

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 2014-2018 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 60 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 76.9% 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 Alma was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

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.