African Americans have a complex and painful history in the United States, yet we have nonetheless become a crucial part of American society. According to the latest census data released in 2020, people who identify as African American alone constitute the second largest racial group in the country, comprising 12.4% of the total population. In this article, we will examine the states with the largest black population.
States with the highest African American population
A closer look at the census data makes it clear that the distribution of the black population in the United States is far from uniform. The country’s South region, which encompasses states from Texas to Delaware, is home to 38.1% of the entire U.S. population. This same region is comprised of a staggering 57.4% of the African American population. Below is a list of the states with the largest black population.
California – #5
California is home to the fifth-largest black population in the country, with an estimated 2.2 million black residents in 2020. This represents approximately 6% of the state’s total population. The majority of black Californians live in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas.
New York – #4
New York has the fourth-largest black population in the country, with an estimated 3.1 million black residents in 2020. This represents approximately 15% of the state’s total population. The majority of black New Yorkers live in New York City.
Georgia -#3
Georgia has the third-largest black population in the country, with an estimated 3.3 million black residents in 2020. This represents approximately 31% of the state’s total population, making it the state with the highest percentage of black residents in the country. It is worth noting, that the black population in Georgia is quite disproportionate to its overall population. The entire population of Georgia, makes up about 3% of the U.S. population. In contrast, the black population in Georgia represents 8% of the entire U.S. African American population.
Florida – #2
Florida is home to the second-largest black population in the country. In 2020, it was estimated that there were around 3.3 million black residents in Florida. The black population there represents about 15.1% of the state’s total population. Since Florida has a large population overall, this number of black residents is pretty normal for a state of its size.
Texas – #1
Texas has the largest black population of any state in the country, with an estimated 3.6 million black residents in 2020. This represented approximately 12.2% of the state’s total population. Nevertheless, the amount of black people in Texas is not unusual compared to how many people live there overall. In fact, the black population in Texas represents 8.64% of the entire U.S. black population. In comparison, the state’s total population of represents 8.79% of the entire U.S. population. Therefore, it’s not that surprising that there are a large amount of black people in Texas given its size.
Black population as a percentage of total population
Population alone does not give us a complete picture of the distribution of black people throughout the United States. As mentioned earlier in this article, over 50% of black people live in the southern part of the United States. Looking closer at the numbers helps us to see how the history of the United States has shaped the black experience.
District of Columbia (D.C.)
D.C. is a very small state, however, it is the only state in the U.S. where the black population exceeds the white population. In comparison to to other states, it also has a very largely disproportionate black population. In 2020, African Americans made up 41.4% of the population there.
Other Noteworthy Statistics
- Mississippi’s population is 36.6% black.
- Lousiana’s population is 31.4% black
- Maryland’s population is 29.5% black
- Alabama’s population is 25.8% black
Conclusion
The distribution of the black population in the United States is closely linked to the history of slavery, segregation, and discrimination in the country. Black people brought to the United States as slaves and were concentrated in the southern states where they worked on large plantations. Even after the abolition of slavery, many black people continued to live in the South due to economic and social pressures.
Sources
All statistical information contained in this article was taken from 2020 U.S. Census Data, retrieved at the following urls on May 13, 2023.
https://data.census.gov/profile/United_States?g=010XX00US
https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/2020/data/
