The 10 Mississippi Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


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

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 Mississippi is 1,109,577 - at 37.4% of the total population of Mississippi.

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 Mississippi? Which cities and towns in Mississippi have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Mississippi with the largest African American population in 2023:

  1. Indianola
  2. Jackson
  3. Greenville
  4. Clarksdale
  5. Holly Springs
  6. Moss Point
  7. McComb
  8. Byram
  9. Canton
  10. Greenwood

What's the blackest city in Mississippi? Indianola took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi or the most diverse places in Mississippi.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Mississippi For 2023

1. Indianola

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,679
% African American: 82.65%
# Of African American Residents: 8,000
Percent Change Since 2010: -8.53%
More on Indianola: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Indianola, MS

2. Jackson

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 156,803
% African American: 82.59%
# Of African American Residents: 129,510
Percent Change Since 2010: -5.41%
More on Jackson: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Jackson, MS

Source: Public domain

3. Greenville

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 30,175
% African American: 82.37%
# Of African American Residents: 24,854
Percent Change Since 2010: -5.24%
More on Greenville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Greenville, MS

4. Clarksdale

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 15,124
% African American: 81.22%
# Of African American Residents: 12,283
Percent Change Since 2010: -12.5%
More on Clarksdale: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Clarksdale, MS

5. Holly Springs

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 6,743
% African American: 78.45%
# Of African American Residents: 5,290
Percent Change Since 2010: -13.12%
More on Holly Springs: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Holly Springs, MS

6. Moss Point

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,282
% African American: 75.39%
# Of African American Residents: 9,259
Percent Change Since 2010: -5.7%
More on Moss Point: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Moss Point, MS

7. Mccomb

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 12,400
% African American: 75.05%
# Of African American Residents: 9,306
Percent Change Since 2010: 9.29%
More on Mccomb: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Mccomb, MS

8. Byram

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 12,591
% African American: 74.88%
# Of African American Residents: 9,428
Percent Change Since 2010: 80.06%
More on Byram: Real Estate | Data

9. Canton

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 10,955
% African American: 73.12%
# Of African American Residents: 8,010
Percent Change Since 2010: -22.1%
More on Canton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Canton, MS

10. Greenwood

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 14,521
% African American: 71.97%
# Of African American Residents: 10,451
Percent Change Since 2010: -1.1%
More on Greenwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Greenwood, MS

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Mississippi 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 Mississippi.

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 60 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 82.7% to 4.7%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Indianola took the distinction of being the most Black, while Ocean Springs was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Mississippi 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 Mississippi

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

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

  1. Ocean Springs
  2. Long Beach
  3. Waveland

For more Mississippi reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Mississippi

Rank City % African American Population
1 Indianola 82.65% 9,679
2 Jackson 82.59% 156,803
3 Greenville 82.37% 30,175
4 Clarksdale 81.22% 15,124
5 Holly Springs 78.45% 6,743
6 Moss Point 75.39% 12,282
7 Mccomb 75.05% 12,400
8 Byram 74.88% 12,591
9 Canton 73.12% 10,955
10 Greenwood 71.97% 14,521
11 Yazoo City 71.96% 10,887
12 Vicksburg 68.82% 21,748
13 Laurel 65.76% 17,375
14 Meridian 65.49% 35,625
15 West Point 65.46% 10,148
16 Louisville 63.59% 6,108
17 Columbus 61.02% 23,858
18 Natchez 60.98% 14,435
19 Brookhaven 59.47% 11,855
20 Grenada 56.69% 12,675
21 Kosciusko 55.29% 7,128
22 Hattiesburg 54.44% 47,074
23 Philadelphia 54.35% 7,107
24 Cleveland 52.17% 11,285
25 Carthage 48.19% 5,622
26 Batesville 47.78% 7,404
27 Columbia 44.91% 5,998
28 Horn Lake 44.38% 26,623
29 Senatobia 40.21% 8,075
30 Clinton 39.8% 27,830
31 Gulfport 39.1% 72,468
32 Ridgeland 38.94% 24,330
33 Picayune 37.74% 11,777
34 Forest 37.46% 5,464
35 Pascagoula 36.76% 22,001
36 Tupelo 36.65% 37,872
37 Pearl 33.28% 27,017
38 Southaven 32.36% 54,141
39 Starkville 32.31% 24,578
40 Olive Branch 32.25% 39,136
41 Gautier 31.92% 18,932
42 Amory 30.68% 6,665
43 New Albany 30.65% 7,657
44 Pontotoc 29.11% 5,621
45 Flowood 28.86% 10,019
46 Oxford 25.62% 25,859
47 Ripley 24.61% 5,412
48 Biloxi 20.74% 49,061
49 Richland 20.08% 7,126
50 Corinth 19.71% 14,545
51 Brandon 19.61% 24,887
52 D'iberville 19.61% 12,736
53 Bay St. Louis 18.37% 9,568
54 Booneville 17.72% 8,702
55 Hernando 16.62% 16,730
56 Petal 16.1% 11,342
57 Madison 14.08% 27,459
58 Waveland 12.3% 7,063
59 Long Beach 6.17% 16,654
60 Ocean Springs 4.72% 18,275

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in Mississippi 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.