US African American Population by County

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Black Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with heritage from any Black racial group of the African continent. Black Americans are usually descendants of slaves brought to America from Africa European slave traders.

Black Americans compose the 2nd-largest racial group in the United States, after White Americans and Hispanic Americans.

At the beginning of the 21st century, more than 50% of the nation’s approximately 37 million Black Americans dwelled in the South. Ten Southern U.S. states had Black communities surpassing one million. Black Americans are also high in the biggest cities, with more than two million dwellings in NYC and more than one million in Chicago. Detroit, Philadelphia, and Houston every had a Black population within 500 thousand and one million.

The U.S. Black population is increasing. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, African American in 2020, About 47.8 million people in the United States identified as Blacks (14.6% of the population). That is up from 36.8 million in 2000 (13% of the population).

Absence of Black

Geographically the South is the region with the highest share of the nation’s Black population, with 56 percent of this population residing there. The Northeast and Midwest held 17% of Black Americans, while the West is residence to 1/10 of the Black population.

Top 10 U.S. counties with the highest number of Blacks (2020)

1. Cook (Illinois): 1,219,493
2. Harris (Texas): 959,264
3. Los Angeles (California): 895,268
4. Kings (New York): 850,352
5. Philadelphia (Pennsylvania): 686,918
6. Wayne (Michiagan: 673,978
7. Dallas (Texas): 626,944
8. Bronx (New York): 616,104
9. Broward (Florida): 597,154
10. Prince George’s: 586,515

Top 10 U.S. counties with highest percentage of Blacks (2020)

1. Claiborne County (Mississippi): 86.07%
2. Jefferson County (Mississippi): 85.15%
3. Holmes County (Mississippi): 83.54%
4. Macon County (Alabama): 80.73%
5. Greene County (Alabama): 80.13%
6. Petersburg city (Virginia): 77.69%
7. Tunica County (Mississippi): 77.47%
8. Coahoma County (Mississippi): 77.02%
9. Humphreys County (Mississippi): 75.79%
10. Leflore County (Mississippi): 75.74%
11. Sunflower County (Mississippi): 73.85%
12. Allendale County (South Carolina): 73.05%
13. Hinds County (Mississippi): 72.62%
14. Lowndes County (Alabama): 72.55%
15. Washington County (Mississippi): 72.37%
16. Clayton County (Georgia): 72.15%
17. Noxubee County (Mississippi): 72.07%
18. Sumter County (Alabama): 71.79%
19. Quitman (Mississippi): 71.34%
20. Wilcox County (Alabama): 71.28%

U.S. Counties without African Americans

• Keya Paha (Nebraska)
• Hooker (Nebraska)
• Wheeler (Nebraska)
• Arthur (Nebraska)
• Kalawao (Hawaii)

In recent decades, there has been an increase in U.S. counties with a predominance of blacks.

However, the growth in the number of black-majority U.S. counties isn’t because the United States is shifting considerably blacker (the share of Afro-Americans in the U.S. has only grown by 1.5% since 1970), but because of changes between and within regions and metropolitan areas. This growth is proceeding amid a national conversation about the U.S. becoming minority white in about 2050, a prediction due in massive part to the growing amounts of Hispanics and newcomers in national population totals.

Absence of Black (1990 – 2020)

The preponderance (63%) of Black people were age 22 or more youthful, indicating the youth of this racial group.

The map below shows U.S. black population, percent change by county.

Percent change of Black population by U.S. county from 1990 to 2020

Top 10 counties with the most significant percentage decrease in the African American population

1. Alpine (California): -83.33%
2. Bristol Bay (Alaska): -76.32%
3. Bristol Bay (Alaska): -84%
4. Hardin (Illinois): -78%
5. Atchison (Missouri): -72%
6. McDowell (West Virginia): -72%
7. Hancock (Tennessee): -71%
8. Logan (Nebraska): -67%
9. Gogebic (Michigan): -64%
10. Losco (Michigan): -64%
11. Chattahoochee (Georgia): -62%
12. Crawford (Michigan): -60%

Top 20 counties with the most significant percentage increase in the African American population

1. Forsyth (Georgia): 89000%
2. Johnson (Nebraska): 33600%
3. Elliott (Kentucky): 27600%
4. Sullivan (Missouri): 18900%
5. Colfax (Nebraska): 15775%
6. Martin (Kentucky): 15140%
7. Towns (Georgia): 14200%
8. White (Indiana): 13950%
9. Luce (Michigan): 13580%
10. Callahan (Texas): 12450%

Related posts:
– Absence of Hispanic
– Absence of Asians