The 10 California Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


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

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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 California is 2,128,184 - at 5.4% 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. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the 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 2023:

  1. Inglewood
  2. Compton
  3. Hawthorne
  4. Carson
  5. Oakland
  6. California City
  7. Lancaster
  8. Antioch
  9. Suisun City
  10. Gardena

What's the blackest city in California? Inglewood took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in California for 2023. See if it ranked as one of the most african american cities in America.

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

To see where California 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 California or the most diverse places in California.

The 10 Blackest Cities In California For 2023

1. Inglewood

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 108,206
% African American: 39.86%
# Of African American Residents: 43,135
Percent Change Since 2010: -8.35%
More on Inglewood: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Inglewood, CA

2. Compton

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 96,083
% African American: 26.68%
# Of African American Residents: 25,631
Percent Change Since 2010: -18.58%
More on Compton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Compton, CA

3. Hawthorne

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 87,863
% African American: 26.17%
# Of African American Residents: 22,998
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.49%
More on Hawthorne: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hawthorne, CA

4. Carson

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 95,104
% African American: 22.21%
# Of African American Residents: 21,126
Percent Change Since 2010: 1.07%
More on Carson: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Carson, CA

5. Oakland

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 437,548
% African American: 21.61%
# Of African American Residents: 94,543
Percent Change Since 2010: -12.85%
More on Oakland: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Oakland, CA

6. California City

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 14,914
% African American: 20.01%
# Of African American Residents: 2,985
Percent Change Since 2010: 67.41%
More on California City: Real Estate | Data | Photos

California City, CA

7. Lancaster

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 171,820
% African American: 19.96%
# Of African American Residents: 34,297
Percent Change Since 2010: 23.33%
More on Lancaster: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lancaster, CA

8. Antioch

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 114,750
% African American: 19.47%
# Of African American Residents: 22,342
Percent Change Since 2010: 34.96%
More on Antioch: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Antioch, CA

Source: Public domain

9. Suisun City

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 29,436
% African American: 19.2%
# Of African American Residents: 5,651
Percent Change Since 2010: -0.72%
More on Suisun City: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Suisun City, CA

Source: Public domain

10. Gardena

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 60,917
% African American: 18.99%
# Of African American Residents: 11,567
Percent Change Since 2010: -11.08%
More on Gardena: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Gardena, CA

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In California With The Largest Black Population For 2023

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 California.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 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 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 421 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 39.9% 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. Inglewood took the distinction of being the most Black, while Orland was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

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.

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

  1. Orland
  2. Healdsburg
  3. Livingston

For more California reading, check out:

African American Population By City In California

Rank City % African American Population
1 Inglewood 39.86% 108,206
2 Compton 26.68% 96,083
3 Hawthorne 26.17% 87,863
4 Carson 22.21% 95,104
5 Oakland 21.61% 437,548
6 California City 20.01% 14,914
7 Lancaster 19.96% 171,820
8 Antioch 19.47% 114,750
9 Suisun City 19.2% 29,436
10 Gardena 18.99% 60,917
11 Richmond 17.95% 115,677
12 Emeryville 17.58% 12,747
13 Vallejo 17.48% 125,350
14 Moreno Valley 17.36% 208,371
15 Hercules 17.16% 26,050
16 Calipatria 16.37% 7,247
17 Adelanto 15.85% 37,229
18 Victorville 15.64% 132,924
19 Fairfield 15.61% 118,932
20 Lemon Grove 15.25% 27,513
21 Susanville 13.64% 16,305
22 Pittsburg 13.27% 75,701
23 Barstow 13.27% 25,123
24 Corcoran 12.88% 22,616
25 Sacramento 12.76% 518,605
26 Rialto 12.63% 103,799
27 Bellflower 12.53% 79,070
28 Palmdale 12.44% 167,987
29 Rio Vista 12.42% 9,850
30 Blythe 11.9% 18,125
31 Long Beach 11.58% 466,565
32 San Bernardino 11.53% 220,821
33 Pinole 11.11% 19,065
34 San Pablo 10.99% 31,975
35 Stockton 10.89% 317,818
36 Rancho Cordova 10.65% 78,358
37 Elk Grove 10.55% 175,510
38 Signal Hill 10.53% 11,780
39 East Palo Alto 10.36% 29,888
40 San Leandro 9.71% 91,176
41 Twentynine Palms 9.64% 27,176
42 Soledad 9.27% 25,102
43 Vacaville 9.23% 102,256
44 Rancho Cucamonga 9.2% 173,946
45 Hayward 9.09% 162,254
46 Brentwood 9.04% 63,618
47 Colton 8.69% 53,894
48 Culver City 8.56% 40,640
49 Fontana 8.38% 208,087
50 Oakley 8.38% 42,996
51 Perris 8.33% 78,106
52 Los Angeles 8.31% 3,902,440
53 Loma Linda 8.26% 24,712
54 Beaumont 8.24% 52,081
55 Cerritos 8.23% 49,630
56 Lynwood 8.11% 67,497
57 Lakewood 8.07% 82,419
58 Hemet 7.99% 88,903
59 Lathrop 7.91% 28,078
60 Desert Hot Springs 7.8% 31,988
61 Crescent City 7.58% 6,686
62 Pasadena 7.51% 138,771
63 American Canyon 7.5% 21,735
64 Paramount 7.48% 53,904
65 Lawndale 7.36% 32,035
66 La Mesa 7.26% 61,040
67 Berkeley 7.26% 119,607
68 Lake Elsinore 7.14% 68,822
69 Seaside 7.05% 32,631
70 Artesia 6.97% 16,390
71 Tehachapi 6.82% 13,346
72 Chowchilla 6.76% 18,826
73 Apple Valley 6.68% 75,311
74 San Jacinto 6.65% 53,299
75 Banning 6.65% 29,664
76 Bakersfield 6.63% 398,756
77 Marina 6.59% 22,246
78 Fresno 6.47% 538,678
79 Chino 6.45% 90,279
80 El Cajon 6.22% 106,043
81 Menifee 6.22% 101,089
82 Highland 6.21% 56,733
83 Redlands 6.12% 72,649
84 Alameda 6.01% 78,320
85 Lemoore 5.78% 26,631
86 Lomita 5.73% 20,884
87 San Diego 5.65% 1,385,398
88 Claremont 5.65% 36,312
89 Corona 5.61% 157,844
90 Upland 5.49% 78,624
91 Pomona 5.47% 151,592
92 Wasco 5.46% 27,505
93 Riverside 5.42% 314,858
94 Ontario 5.25% 175,223
95 Murrieta 5.19% 111,096
96 Monrovia 4.98% 37,999
97 Hanford 4.96% 57,359
98 San Francisco 4.92% 865,933
99 Oroville 4.89% 20,409
100 Tracy 4.88% 92,792

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in California with the largest African American population.

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.