These Are The 10 West Virginia Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2018

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 West Virginia is 62,385 – at 3.4% of the total population of West 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 impacted West Virginia? Which cities and towns in West Virginia have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in West Virginia with the largest African American population in 2018:

1. Bluefield (Photos)
2. Beckley (Photos)
3. Martinsburg (Photos)
4. Charles Town
5. Charleston (Photos)
6. Keyser (Photos)
7. Huntington (Photos)
8. Fairmont (Photos)
9. Dunbar
10. Oak Hill (Photos)

Bluefield took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in West Virginia for 2018.

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

To see where West 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 West Virginia or the most diverse places in West Virginia.

How We Determined The Cities In West Virginia With The Largest Black Population For 2018

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 West Virginia.

That lead us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2012-2016 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*

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 27 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 24.0% 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. Bluefield took the distinction of being the most Black, while New Martinsville was the least African American city.

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

1. Bluefield

Population: 10,366
% African American: 24.02%
# Of African American Residents: 2,490
Percent Change Since 2010: 2.3%

2. Beckley

Population: 17,348
% African American: 23.9%
# Of African American Residents: 4,147
Percent Change Since 2010: 11.93%

3. Martinsburg

Population: 17,613
% African American: 14.32%
# Of African American Residents: 2,523
Percent Change Since 2010: 30.46%

4. Charles Town

Population: 5,682
% African American: 13.6%
# Of African American Residents: 773
Percent Change Since 2010: -12.46%

5. Charleston

Population: 50,210
% African American: 11.25%
# Of African American Residents: 5,650
Percent Change Since 2010: 9.84%

6. Keyser

Population: 5,261
% African American: 10.91%
# Of African American Residents: 574
Percent Change Since 2010: -14.07%

7. Huntington

Population: 48,735
% African American: 8.31%
# Of African American Residents: 4,050
Percent Change Since 2010: 0.45%

8. Fairmont

Population: 18,699
% African American: 8.19%
# Of African American Residents: 1,531
Percent Change Since 2010: 5.59%

9. Dunbar

Population: 7,714
% African American: 7.6%
# Of African American Residents: 586
Percent Change Since 2010: -10.4%

10. Oak Hill

Population: 8,722
% African American: 6.67%
# Of African American Residents: 582
Percent Change Since 2010: 18.29%

There You Have It – Black Populations Across West Virginia

If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across West 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 West Virginia:

1. New Martinsville
2. Vienna
3. Grafton

For more West Virginia reading , check out:

• These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In West Virginia According To Science
• These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In West Virginia
• These Are The 10 Safest Places In West Virginia

Detailed List Of The Most African American Cities In West Virginia

City	Rank	Population	% African American
Bluefield	1	10,366	24.02%
Beckley	2	17,348	23.9%
Martinsburg	3	17,613	14.32%
Charles Town	4	5,682	13.6%
Charleston	5	50,210	11.25%
Keyser	6	5,261	10.91%
Huntington	7	48,735	8.31%
Fairmont	8	18,699	8.19%
Dunbar	9	7,714	7.6%
Oak Hill	10	8,722	6.67%
Princeton	11	6,056	6.51%
Morgantown	12	30,364	6.21%
Wheeling	13	27,758	6.07%
Buckhannon	14	5,645	5.33%
South Charleston	15	13,182	4.76%
Nitro	16	6,505	3.43%
Clarksburg	17	16,226	3.08%
Weirton	18	19,307	3.0%
Elkins	19	7,232	2.74%
St. Albans	20	10,788	2.73%
Bridgeport	21	8,364	2.53%
Parkersburg	22	30,962	2.1%
Hurricane	23	6,460	1.49%
Moundsville	24	8,858	1.16%
Grafton	25	5,156	0.97%
Vienna	26	10,566	0.83%
New Martinsville	27	5,255	0.0%