The 10 Virginia Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2022


We used science and data to determine which cities in Virginia 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 Virginia is 1,590,974 - at 18.7% of the total population of Virginia.

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

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Virginia with the largest African American population in 2022:

  1. Petersburg
  2. Emporia
  3. South Boston
  4. Franklin
  5. Portsmouth
  6. Hampton
  7. Danville
  8. Richmond
  9. Martinsville
  10. Hopewell

What's the blackest city in Virginia? Petersburg took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Virginia for 2022. 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 Virginia 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 Virginia or the most diverse places in Virginia.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Virginia For 2022

1. Petersburg

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 30,791
% African American: 76.25%
# Of African American Residents: 23,479
Percent Change Since 2010: -8.16%
More on Petersburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Petersburg, VA

2. Emporia

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,408
% African American: 59.49%
# Of African American Residents: 3,217
Percent Change Since 2010: -11.65%
More on Emporia: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Emporia, VA

Source: Public domain

3. South Boston

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 7,676
% African American: 59.17%
# Of African American Residents: 4,542
Percent Change Since 2010: 15.99%
More on South Boston: Real Estate | Data | Photos

South Boston, VA

4. Franklin

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,015
% African American: 54.61%
# Of African American Residents: 4,377
Percent Change Since 2010: -9.32%
More on Franklin: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Franklin, VA

5. Portsmouth

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 94,961
% African American: 51.96%
# Of African American Residents: 49,340
Percent Change Since 2010: -1.74%
More on Portsmouth: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Portsmouth, VA

Source: Public domain

6. Hampton

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 135,169
% African American: 49.35%
# Of African American Residents: 66,701
Percent Change Since 2010: -1.24%
More on Hampton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hampton, VA

Source: Public domain

7. Danville

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 40,668
% African American: 48.49%
# Of African American Residents: 19,720
Percent Change Since 2010: -6.24%
More on Danville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Danville, VA

8. Richmond

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 229,233
% African American: 45.79%
# Of African American Residents: 104,961
Percent Change Since 2010: 2.22%
More on Richmond: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Richmond, VA

9. Martinsville

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 12,646
% African American: 45.36%
# Of African American Residents: 5,736
Percent Change Since 2010: -8.4%
More on Martinsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Martinsville, VA

10. Hopewell

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 22,500
% African American: 42.32%
# Of African American Residents: 9,521
Percent Change Since 2010: 11.53%
More on Hopewell: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Hopewell, VA

Source: Public domain

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Virginia With The Largest Black Population For 2022

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 Virginia.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2016-2020 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 59 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 76.3% to 1.5%.

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

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

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

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

  1. Poquoson
  2. Richlands
  3. Strasburg

For more Virginia reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Virginia

Rank City % African American Population
1 Petersburg 76.25% 30,791
2 Emporia 59.49% 5,408
3 South Boston 59.17% 7,676
4 Franklin 54.61% 8,015
5 Portsmouth 51.96% 94,961
6 Hampton 49.35% 135,169
7 Danville 48.49% 40,668
8 Richmond 45.79% 229,233
9 Martinsville 45.36% 12,646
10 Hopewell 42.32% 22,500
11 Suffolk 40.73% 91,383
12 Norfolk 40.05% 244,300
13 Newport News 40.05% 179,582
14 Chesapeake 29.04% 242,647
15 Roanoke 28.56% 99,122
16 Lynchburg 28.2% 80,970
17 Farmville 27.09% 8,152
18 Big Stone Gap 22.77% 5,209
19 Smithfield 22.64% 8,492
20 Alexandria 21.3% 158,309
21 Ashland 18.98% 7,819
22 Charlottesville 18.46% 47,217
23 Fredericksburg 18.41% 29,059
24 Virginia Beach 18.31% 450,882
25 Culpeper 17.99% 18,633
26 Colonial Heights 15.7% 17,283
27 Williamsburg 15.2% 15,034
28 Manassas Park 13.97% 17,548
29 Manassas 12.6% 41,038
30 Covington 12.49% 5,653
31 Waynesboro 11.96% 22,300
32 Staunton 10.7% 24,660
33 Leesburg 10.37% 53,731
34 Winchester 9.95% 27,912
35 Radford 9.68% 17,833
36 Purcellville 9.42% 10,063
37 Warrenton 8.67% 9,928
38 Marion 8.24% 5,646
39 Front Royal 7.14% 15,214
40 Bristol 7.11% 17,059
41 Harrisonburg 6.95% 53,558
42 Herndon 6.66% 24,577
43 Galax 6.61% 6,402
44 Salem 6.54% 25,290
45 Pulaski 6.3% 8,744
46 Lexington 6.27% 7,205
47 Buena Vista 6.01% 6,477
48 Wytheville 5.4% 7,925
49 Christiansburg 5.37% 22,482
50 Bridgewater 5.16% 6,090
51 Fairfax 5.14% 23,312
52 Falls Church 4.57% 14,309
53 Vinton 4.43% 8,102
54 Blacksburg 4.25% 44,395
55 Abingdon 3.99% 7,936
56 Vienna 3.15% 16,532
57 Strasburg 2.88% 6,643
58 Richlands 1.53% 5,311
59 Poquoson 1.5% 12,121

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the cities in Virginia 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.