The 10 Washington Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2022


We used science and data to determine which cities in Washington 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 Washington is 279,720 - at 3.7% of the total population of Washington.

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

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

  1. SeaTac
  2. Tukwila
  3. Federal Way
  4. Lakewood
  5. Kent
  6. Tacoma
  7. Burien
  8. Fife
  9. Des Moines
  10. Renton

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

The 10 Blackest Cities In Washington For 2022

1. Seatac

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 29,102
% African American: 23.36%
# Of African American Residents: 6,797
Percent Change Since 2010: 64.9%
More on Seatac: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Seatac, WA

2. Tukwila

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 20,265
% African American: 20.11%
# Of African American Residents: 4,075
Percent Change Since 2010: 48.56%
More on Tukwila: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Tukwila, WA

3. Federal Way

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 96,812
% African American: 15.21%
# Of African American Residents: 14,729
Percent Change Since 2010: 95.47%
More on Federal Way: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Federal Way, WA

Source: Public domain

4. Lakewood

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 60,564
% African American: 12.53%
# Of African American Residents: 7,591
Percent Change Since 2010: 2.59%
More on Lakewood: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lakewood, WA

5. Kent

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 130,038
% African American: 11.74%
# Of African American Residents: 15,270
Percent Change Since 2010: 64.03%
More on Kent: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Kent, WA

Source: Public domain

6. Tacoma

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 215,766
% African American: 10.32%
# Of African American Residents: 22,271
Percent Change Since 2010: 1.13%
More on Tacoma: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Tacoma, WA

7. Burien

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 51,588
% African American: 10.01%
# Of African American Residents: 5,164
Percent Change Since 2010: 203.76%
More on Burien: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Burien, WA

8. Fife

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 10,345
% African American: 9.42%
# Of African American Residents: 975
Percent Change Since 2010: 9.18%
More on Fife: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Fife, WA

9. Des Moines

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 31,983
% African American: 9.23%
# Of African American Residents: 2,951
Percent Change Since 2010: -9.56%
More on Des Moines: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Des Moines, WA

Source: Public domain

10. Renton

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 101,871
% African American: 8.7%
# Of African American Residents: 8,862
Percent Change Since 2010: 0.27%
More on Renton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Renton, WA

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Washington 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 Washington.

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 6,000 people. That left us with 115 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 23.4% 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. SeaTac took the distinction of being the most Black, while Quincy was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

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

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

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

  1. Quincy
  2. Union Gap
  3. Clarkston

For more Washington reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Washington

Rank City % African American Population
1 Seatac 23.36% 29,102
2 Tukwila 20.11% 20,265
3 Federal Way 15.21% 96,812
4 Lakewood 12.53% 60,564
5 Kent 11.74% 130,038
6 Tacoma 10.32% 215,766
7 Burien 10.01% 51,588
8 Fife 9.42% 10,345
9 Des Moines 9.23% 31,983
10 Renton 8.7% 101,871
11 Pacific 8.52% 7,122
12 Dupont 8.24% 9,514
13 Lynnwood 7.62% 38,538
14 Auburn 7.07% 80,914
15 Seattle 6.91% 741,251
16 Brier 6.84% 6,899
17 Mountlake Terrace 6.1% 21,328
18 Shoreline 5.98% 56,835
19 University Place 5.97% 33,661
20 Oak Harbor 5.78% 23,358
21 Bremerton 5.65% 41,258
22 Everett 5.5% 110,840
23 Steilacoom 4.74% 6,366
24 Lacey 4.52% 50,827
25 Airway Heights 4.36% 8,885
26 Cheney 4.3% 12,455
27 Covington 4.23% 21,131
28 Mill Creek 4.17% 20,750
29 Monroe 4.12% 19,403
30 Puyallup 3.39% 41,666
31 Tumwater 3.26% 23,390
32 Port Orchard 3.21% 14,303
33 Lake Forest Park 3.01% 13,455
34 Moses Lake 3.01% 23,442
35 Olympia 2.77% 52,290
36 Pullman 2.71% 33,974
37 Newcastle 2.71% 12,078
38 Bellevue 2.57% 146,145
39 Spokane 2.37% 219,185
40 Walla Walla 2.1% 32,951
41 Vancouver 2.06% 182,792
42 Ellensburg 2.05% 20,679
43 Burlington 1.96% 9,085
44 Fircrest 1.9% 6,844
45 Richland 1.9% 57,353
46 Kirkland 1.9% 91,146
47 Sequim 1.87% 7,441
48 Arlington 1.81% 19,947
49 Kennewick 1.78% 82,633
50 Lake Stevens 1.77% 33,470
51 Pasco 1.74% 74,266
52 Longview 1.7% 37,914
53 Mukilteo 1.62% 21,414
54 Maple Valley 1.62% 26,739
55 Edmonds 1.59% 42,347
56 Redmond 1.57% 67,959
57 Bellingham 1.56% 90,821
58 Yakima 1.53% 93,829
59 Camas 1.51% 24,043
60 Kenmore 1.5% 22,969
61 Marysville 1.42% 69,629
62 Sammamish 1.41% 65,265
63 Milton 1.38% 8,211
64 Woodland 1.37% 6,223
65 Issaquah 1.32% 38,707
66 Bothell 1.31% 46,386
67 Bonney Lake 1.31% 21,247
68 Port Angeles 1.27% 20,071
69 Chehalis 1.26% 7,607
70 Spokane Valley 1.25% 99,275
71 Orting 1.17% 8,267
72 Poulsbo 1.12% 10,869
73 West Richland 1.12% 14,842
74 Washougal 1.07% 15,927
75 Sumner 1.05% 10,246
76 Sedro-Woolley 1.01% 11,919
77 Selah 1.01% 7,957
78 Port Townsend 0.94% 9,710
79 Mercer Island 0.91% 25,820
80 Woodinville 0.85% 13,038
81 Duvall 0.81% 7,979
82 Ephrata 0.8% 8,081
83 Lynden 0.8% 14,700
84 Enumclaw 0.79% 12,062
85 Normandy Park 0.75% 6,643
86 Gig Harbor 0.75% 10,280
87 Kelso 0.73% 12,237
88 Yelm 0.7% 9,262
89 Anacortes 0.64% 17,231
90 Wenatchee 0.63% 34,249
91 Centralia 0.6% 17,473
92 Mount Vernon 0.58% 35,502
93 Prosser 0.54% 6,288
94 Aberdeen 0.53% 16,571
95 North Bend 0.5% 7,161
96 Hoquiam 0.5% 8,570
97 Shelton 0.44% 10,467
98 Snohomish 0.42% 10,141
99 Bainbridge Island 0.38% 24,859
100 Snoqualmie 0.35% 13,550

How Is The Area In ?

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