2025

Cities in United States ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 27808 cities in U.S. based on their Black or African American population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest Black population in U.S.

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  • 1
    New York
    Black population in New York is 2,264,732
    23.83% of New York population is Black
  • 2
    Brooklyn borough
    Black population in Brooklyn borough is 869,073
    29.96% of Brooklyn borough population is Black
  • 3
    Chicago
    Black population in Chicago is 819,470
    26.85% of Chicago population is Black
  • 4
    Philadelphia
    Black population in Philadelphia is 685,826
    40.00% of Philadelphia population is Black
  • 5
    Bronx borough
    Black population in Bronx borough is 576,961
    35.48% of Bronx borough population is Black

List of 27808 cities in United States by Black Population

View Methodology
Rank by Black Population
City
Black Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total U.S. Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 New York 2,264,732 23.83% 5.94%
2 Brooklyn borough 869,073 29.96% 2.28%
3 Chicago 819,470 26.85% 2.15%
4 Philadelphia 685,826 40.00% 1.80%
5 Bronx borough 576,961 35.48% 1.51%
6 Houston 570,443 20.68% 1.50%
7 Detroit 505,400 75.17% 1.32%
8 470,329 17.99% 1.23%
9 405,249 61.39% 1.06%
10 398,021 8.83% 1.04%
11 361,265 59.11% 0.95%
12 330,236 21.54% 0.87%
13 325,964 33.59% 0.85%
14 316,939 29.86% 0.83%
15 313,970 42.65% 0.82%
16 295,919 29.93% 0.78%
17 290,320 15.96% 0.76%
18 246,726 46.45% 0.65%
19 237,379 36.84% 0.62%
20 218,526 53.66% 0.57%
21 204,118 18.47% 0.54%
22 189,988 46.91% 0.50%
23 187,704 24.51% 0.49%
24 158,665 8.01% 0.42%
25 158,319 18.11% 0.42%
26 155,952 44.34% 0.41%
27 144,485 26.05% 0.38%
28 141,578 27.67% 0.37%
29 136,924 66.32% 0.36%
30 136,027 42.13% 0.36%
31 133,240 42.59% 0.35%
32 131,729 39.57% 0.35%
33 129,182 62.27% 0.34%
34 128,144 6.71% 0.34%
35 124,717 81.02% 0.33%
36 120,229 50.97% 0.32%
37 115,288 14.47% 0.30%
38 107,769 21.74% 0.28%
39 107,523 34.06% 0.28%
40 106,391 55.42% 0.28%
41 105,223 6.51% 0.28%
42 103,282 46.62% 0.27%
43 103,279 41.99% 0.27%
44 102,695 40.13% 0.27%
45 102,577 20.32% 0.27%
46 101,323 33.91% 0.27%
47 101,057 52.49% 0.26%
48 99,581 42.24% 0.26%
49 99,550 21.46% 0.26%
50 98,534 21.16% 0.26%
51 96,354 12.59% 0.25%
52 91,599 19.54% 0.24%
53 91,366 8.10% 0.24%
54 89,237 38.45% 0.23%
55 88,775 30.41% 0.23%
56 88,698 32.24% 0.23%
57 88,556 14.41% 0.23%
58 83,421 38.44% 0.22%
59 82,833 40.25% 0.22%
60 81,543 29.70% 0.21%
61 80,481 21.22% 0.21%
62 79,951 51.25% 0.21%
63 78,567 9.45% 0.21%
64 76,984 23.71% 0.20%
65 76,013 35.28% 0.20%
66 75,244 56.45% 0.20%
67 74,727 49.32% 0.20%
68 74,093 16.24% 0.19%
69 72,981 15.26% 0.19%
70 71,968 13.36% 0.19%
71 71,160 21.45% 0.19%
72 70,885 11.07% 0.19%
73 69,955 21.29% 0.18%
74 69,722 29.79% 0.18%
75 69,179 37.98% 0.18%
76 66,758 39.97% 0.18%
77 66,452 32.03% 0.17%
78 65,314 12.41% 0.17%
79 64,688 7.81% 0.17%
80 61,278 18.18% 0.16%
81 60,624 74.95% 0.16%
82 59,884 80.23% 0.16%
83 58,499 39.68% 0.15%
84 58,049 10.74% 0.15%
85 57,574 27.14% 0.15%
86 57,228 6.13% 0.15%
87 57,087 29.12% 0.15%
88 57,020 38.74% 0.15%
89 56,501 19.79% 0.15%
90 55,572 39.81% 0.15%
91 55,129 74.76% 0.14%
92 54,897 51.98% 0.14%
93 54,239 12.06% 0.14%
94 54,135 43.14% 0.14%
95 53,093 75.80% 0.14%
96 52,944 41.75% 0.14%
97 52,471 64.21% 0.14%
98 52,429 22.38% 0.14%
99 52,169 41.38% 0.14%
100 51,806 7.17% 0.14%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in United States by their Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Black Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Black, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Black alone, while others identify as Black along with another race (such as Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Black .
  • We’ve used the “Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Black alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Black .
  2. % of Total U.S. Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Black population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Black populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported Black population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Black populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.