The 10 California Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2025


The most African American cities in California are Inglewood and Compton for 2025 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most African American cities in California research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze California’s most recent Census data to determine the blackest cities in California based on the percentage of Black residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

  • The city with the largest African American population in California is Inglewood based on the most recent Census data.

  • Inglewood is 38.87% Black.

  • The least African American city in California is Los Altos Hills.

  • Los Altos Hills is 0.0% Black.

  • California is 5.3% Black.

  • California is the 29th blackest state in the United States.

Cities With Highest Black Population In California Map


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


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

Roughly 42 million people identifying as Black or African American live in the United States, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in California is 2,076,395 – at 5.3% of the total population of California.

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. Most scholars and historians agree that increasing diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

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

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in California with the largest African American population in 2025:

What’s the blackest city in California? The city with the largest Black population in California for 2025 is Inglewood. See if Inglewood ranked as one of the most african american places in America.

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

The 10 Blackest Cities In California For 2025

1. Inglewood

Inglewood, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Jengod at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 105,575
% African American: 38.87%
# Of African American Residents: 41,036
Percent Change Since 2010: -12.81%
More on Inglewood: Data

2. Compton

Compton, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Epolk at English Wikipedia | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 93,525
% African American: 24.92%
# Of African American Residents: 23,309
Percent Change Since 2010: -25.96%
More on Compton: Data

3. Hawthorne

Hawthorne, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Clotee Pridgen Alloc | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 85,933
% African American: 24.57%
# Of African American Residents: 21,112
Percent Change Since 2010: -10.49%
More on Hawthorne: Data

4. Carson

Carson, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Laurie Avocado | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 93,523
% African American: 22.28%
# Of African American Residents: 20,838
Percent Change Since 2010: -0.31%
More on Carson: Data

5. California City

California City, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Craig Dietrich | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 14,821
% African American: 22.26%
# Of African American Residents: 3,299
Percent Change Since 2010: 85.03%
More on California City: Data

6. Lancaster

Lancaster, CA

Source: Wikipedia User City of Lancaster LancasterCA (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 170,013
% African American: 21.0%
# Of African American Residents: 35,707
Percent Change Since 2010: 28.4%
More on Lancaster: Data

7. Oakland

Oakland, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Basil D Soufi | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 438,072
% African American: 20.54%
# Of African American Residents: 89,973
Percent Change Since 2010: -17.06%
More on Oakland: Data

8. Suisun City

Suisun City, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 29,205
% African American: 20.26%
# Of African American Residents: 5,918
Percent Change Since 2010: 3.97%
More on Suisun City: Data

9. Antioch

Antioch, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 115,759
% African American: 19.13%
# Of African American Residents: 22,142
Percent Change Since 2010: 33.76%
More on Antioch: Data

10. Gardena

Gardena, CA

Source: Wikipedia User METRO96 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 59,765
% African American: 18.45%
# Of African American Residents: 11,028
Percent Change Since 2010: -15.23%
More on Gardena: Data

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In California With The Largest Black Population For 2025

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

That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2019-2023 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*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest 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 in California. That left us with 421 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 38.9% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Inglewood took the distinction of being the most Black, while Los Altos Hills was the least African American city.

We updated this article for 2025. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in California with the largest African American population.

Read on for more information on how the cities in California 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.

Summary: Black Populations Across California

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

The blackest cities in California are Inglewood, Compton, Hawthorne, Carson, California City, Lancaster, Oakland, Suisun City, Antioch, and Gardena.

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

  1. Los Altos Hills
  2. Guadalupe
  3. Fort Bragg

For more California reading, check out:

African American Population By City In California

Rank City Population African American Population % African American
1 Inglewood 105,575 41,036 38.87%
2 Compton 93,525 23,309 24.92%
3 Hawthorne 85,933 21,112 24.57%
4 Carson 93,523 20,838 22.28%
5 California City 14,821 3,299 22.26%
6 Lancaster 170,013 35,707 21.0%
7 Oakland 438,072 89,973 20.54%
8 Suisun City 29,205 5,918 20.26%
9 Antioch 115,759 22,142 19.13%
10 Gardena 59,765 11,028 18.45%
11 Hercules 26,245 4,817 18.35%
12 Barstow 25,198 4,616 18.32%
13 Emeryville 12,756 2,202 17.26%
14 Moreno Valley 210,378 35,962 17.09%
15 Vallejo 124,637 21,175 16.99%
16 Richmond 115,396 19,455 16.86%
17 Victorville 135,983 22,629 16.64%
18 Adelanto 38,010 5,789 15.23%
19 Fairfield 119,985 17,988 14.99%
20 Lemon Grove 27,489 4,040 14.7%
21 Pittsburg 75,868 10,505 13.85%
22 Palmdale 165,487 21,523 13.01%
23 Rialto 103,866 12,780 12.3%
24 East Palo Alto 29,143 3,478 11.93%
25 Sacramento 524,802 61,594 11.74%
26 Pinole 18,835 2,177 11.56%
27 Long Beach 458,491 52,644 11.48%
28 Susanville 14,992 1,718 11.46%
29 Bellflower 77,396 8,722 11.27%
30 San Bernardino 221,774 24,863 11.21%
31 Blythe 17,824 1,995 11.19%
32 Stockton 320,470 35,126 10.96%
33 San Pablo 31,771 3,470 10.92%
34 Rancho Cordova 80,656 8,528 10.57%
35 Elk Grove 177,221 18,675 10.54%
36 Rio Vista 10,002 1,037 10.37%
37 Crescent City 6,180 630 10.19%
38 Calipatria 6,549 648 9.89%
39 Twentynine Palms 28,738 2,783 9.68%
40 San Leandro 88,531 8,416 9.51%
41 Corcoran 22,626 2,146 9.48%
42 Brentwood 64,609 6,098 9.44%
43 Hemet 90,646 7,992 8.82%
44 Hayward 159,201 13,863 8.71%
45 Beaumont 54,817 4,720 8.61%
46 Oakley 44,311 3,815 8.61%
47 Paramount 52,546 4,497 8.56%
48 Vacaville 102,085 8,716 8.54%
49 Perris 79,349 6,599 8.32%
50 Lynwood 65,291 5,418 8.3%
51 Los Angeles 3,857,897 316,317 8.2%
52 Fontana 211,921 17,300 8.16%
53 Desert Hot Springs 32,786 2,675 8.16%
54 Colton 53,798 4,383 8.15%
55 La Mesa 60,835 4,900 8.05%
56 Rancho Cucamonga 174,693 14,041 8.04%
57 Culver City 39,993 3,109 7.77%
58 Lakewood 80,510 6,257 7.77%
59 Signal Hill 11,563 855 7.39%
60 Pasadena 136,462 10,090 7.39%
61 Soledad 24,476 1,783 7.28%
62 Apple Valley 75,478 5,421 7.18%
63 Lathrop 32,696 2,331 7.13%
64 Berkeley 120,223 8,556 7.12%
65 Lemoore 27,023 1,916 7.09%
66 Loma Linda 25,021 1,712 6.84%
67 Menifee 107,020 7,314 6.83%
68 Chino 91,775 6,224 6.78%
69 Tehachapi 12,366 828 6.7%
70 Cerritos 48,340 3,143 6.5%
71 Fresno 543,615 34,477 6.34%
72 Banning 30,680 1,904 6.21%
73 Monrovia 37,553 2,295 6.11%
74 Marina 22,324 1,364 6.11%
75 Ontario 178,347 10,763 6.03%
76 Upland 78,940 4,735 6.0%
77 Lawndale 31,113 1,858 5.97%
78 El Cajon 104,909 6,246 5.95%
79 Alameda 76,876 4,572 5.95%
80 Tracy 95,358 5,608 5.88%
81 Chowchilla 18,876 1,099 5.82%
82 Bakersfield 408,366 23,518 5.76%
83 Riverside 316,241 18,079 5.72%
84 Lake Elsinore 71,516 4,074 5.7%
85 Claremont 36,553 2,052 5.61%
86 American Canyon 21,698 1,216 5.6%
87 Redlands 72,985 4,017 5.5%
88 San Jacinto 54,756 2,964 5.41%
89 San Diego 1,385,061 74,890 5.41%
90 Hanford 59,389 3,204 5.39%
91 Highland 56,690 3,039 5.36%
92 Union City 68,141 3,581 5.26%
93 Palm Springs 44,998 2,356 5.24%
94 Sierra Madre 11,020 573 5.2%
95 Artesia 16,044 812 5.06%
96 Chula Vista 275,030 13,770 5.01%
97 Folsom 82,140 4,110 5.0%
98 Pomona 148,391 7,417 5.0%
99 Corona 158,839 7,814 4.92%
100 Duarte 21,921 1,078 4.92%
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.

4 thoughts on “The 10 California Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2025

  1. You have not added Baldwin Hills, View park-windsor Hills, and Ladera. All of these have a higher percentage of African-American population than any of these cities listed in this article. All three of these are in Los Angeles, and have 78% or above of African American population. These are middle class to upper middle class African-American areas. So, I questioned the research on this article.

  2. Thank you for this data. I am looking for middle class African American neighborhoods in California. Also, what about Rancho Cucamonga? There is a high African American population there as well.

  3. Rancho Cucamonga has about a 12% African American population. It is nice in Rancho Cucamonga along with reasonable purchase and rental prices. The shopping is very nice with any kind of shops you can think of. Rancho Cucamonga is a place where you can live, work, and play. There are many business buildings with major companies hiring. Rancho Cucamonga is a nice place for African Americans.

  4. Yes, Baldwin Hills, View Park-Windsor Hills, Ladera, and Leimert Park also have middle class African American areas. It ranges from middle to upper middles class neighborhoods.

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