2025

Cities in Virginia ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 228 cities in Virginia 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 Virginia

View All
  • 1
    Richmond
    Black population in Richmond is 103,279
    41.99% of Richmond population is Black
  • 2
    Norfolk
    Black population in Norfolk is 102,695
    40.13% of Norfolk population is Black
  • 3
    Virginia Beach
    Black population in Virginia Beach is 102,577
    20.32% of Virginia Beach population is Black
  • 4
    Newport News
    Black population in Newport News is 82,833
    40.25% of Newport News population is Black
  • 5
    Chesapeake
    Black population in Chesapeake is 81,543
    29.70% of Chesapeake population is Black

List of 228 cities in Virginia by Black Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Black Population
City
Black Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Virginia Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Richmond 103,279 41.99% 10.84%
2 Norfolk 102,695 40.13% 10.78%
3 Virginia Beach 102,577 20.32% 10.77%
4 Newport News 82,833 40.25% 8.69%
5 Chesapeake 81,543 29.70% 8.56%
6 Hampton 74,727 49.32% 7.84%
7 Portsmouth 54,897 51.98% 5.76%
8 43,226 41.72% 4.54%
9 37,460 20.98% 3.93%
10 31,065 29.07% 3.26%
11 26,891 76.64% 2.82%
12 23,683 28.09% 2.49%
13 22,796 50.20% 2.39%
14 11,075 43.71% 1.16%
15 8,659 17.67% 0.91%
16 7,466 23.37% 0.78%
17 6,529 44.20% 0.69%
18 6,428 11.40% 0.67%
19 6,388 12.30% 0.67%
20 5,963 10.02% 0.63%
21 4,817 21.65% 0.51%
22 4,477 50.79% 0.47%
23 4,440 55.32% 0.47%
24 4,003 61.92% 0.42%
25 3,718 15.03% 0.39%
26 3,697 11.83% 0.39%
27 3,690 13.51% 0.39%
28 3,620 18.94% 0.38%
29 2,733 13.76% 0.29%
30 2,688 15.80% 0.28%
31 2,503 5.25% 0.26%
32 2,462 8.30% 0.26%
33 2,376 8.94% 0.25%
34 2,203 44.31% 0.23%
35 2,098 76.91% 0.22%
36 2,025 25.81% 0.21%
37 1,968 12.05% 0.21%
38 1,952 50.36% 0.20%
39 1,872 20.51% 0.20%
40 1,765 25.49% 0.19%
41 1,751 6.38% 0.18%
42 1,735 32.44% 0.18%
43 1,706 9.89% 0.18%
44 1,628 6.74% 0.17%
45 1,600 19.61% 0.17%
46 1,468 8.13% 0.15%
47 1,422 27.11% 0.15%
48 1,411 12.20% 0.15%
49 1,237 35.69% 0.13%
50 1,129 43.95% 0.12%
51 1,082 20.04% 0.11%
52 1,080 5.95% 0.11%
53 1,074 37.33% 0.11%
54 1,022 55.79% 0.11%
55 990 49.52% 0.10%
56 898 74.77% 0.09%
57 865 5.33% 0.09%
58 859 14.51% 0.09%
59 853 42.52% 0.09%
60 769 18.67% 0.08%
61 703 63.45% 0.07%
62 692 32.25% 0.07%
63 682 28.12% 0.07%
64 668 7.03% 0.07%
65 660 6.40% 0.07%
66 629 13.52% 0.07%
67 620 17.41% 0.07%
68 614 21.24% 0.06%
69 603 40.83% 0.06%
70 570 29.58% 0.06%
71 559 11.01% 0.06%
72 535 8.21% 0.06%
73 529 22.16% 0.06%
74 526 8.85% 0.06%
75 512 37.84% 0.05%
76 506 12.91% 0.05%
77 484 35.28% 0.05%
78 477 5.75% 0.05%
79 451 5.25% 0.05%
80 449 5.53% 0.05%
81 428 5.88% 0.04%
82 425 38.64% 0.04%
83 416 15.23% 0.04%
84 409 31.34% 0.04%
85 404 29.09% 0.04%
86 401 47.97% 0.04%
87 377 7.59% 0.04%
88 358 4.63% 0.04%
89 351 39.31% 0.04%
90 342 19.48% 0.04%
91 337 24.46% 0.04%
92 335 6.99% 0.04%
93 331 20.57% 0.03%
94 327 59.35% 0.03%
95 325 38.92% 0.03%
96 324 4.72% 0.03%
97 321 3.80% 0.03%
98 318 14.78% 0.03%
99 316 10.83% 0.03%
100 306 21.78% 0.03%
101 290 2.23% 0.03%
102 286 42.43% 0.03%
103 272 18.62% 0.03%
104 271 42.48% 0.03%
105 264 19.54% 0.03%
106 262 16.13% 0.03%
107 259 14.55% 0.03%
107 259 32.66% 0.03%
108 258 14.43% 0.03%
109 253 8.78% 0.03%
110 247 60.99% 0.03%
111 236 27.13% 0.02%
112 235 30.60% 0.02%
113 213 7.77% 0.02%
114 210 43.48% 0.02%
115 209 30.51% 0.02%
116 208 35.25% 0.02%
117 204 11.54% 0.02%
118 182 24.86% 0.02%
119 178 11.66% 0.02%
120 174 14.59% 0.02%
121 171 2.33% 0.02%
122 162 30.92% 0.02%
123 154 63.37% 0.02%
124 147 39.84% 0.02%
125 142 6.23% 0.01%
126 136 23.90% 0.01%
127 135 4.34% 0.01%
128 131 49.43% 0.01%
129 124 14.19% 0.01%
130 122 4.10% 0.01%
130 122 40.53% 0.01%
131 120 28.92% 0.01%
132 119 7.36% 0.01%
132 119 5.27% 0.01%
133 114 23.03% 0.01%
134 113 4.39% 0.01%
135 112 10.28% 0.01%
136 111 70.25% 0.01%
136 111 36.75% 0.01%
137 110 19.13% 0.01%
137 110 22.92% 0.01%
138 108 3.50% 0.01%
139 99 2.85% 0.01%
140 95 5.50% 0.01%
140 95 2.54% 0.01%
141 91 6.74% 0.01%
142 88 12.41% 0.01%
143 86 10.51% 0.01%
144 84 15.67% 0.01%
145 82 3.74% 0.01%
146 75 19.79% 0.01%
147 71 3.43% 0.01%
147 71 2.01% 0.01%
148 69 27.27% 0.01%
149 68 5.24% 0.01%
150 60 13.04% 0.01%
151 59 16.03% 0.01%
152 57 4.83% 0.01%
152 57 1.82% 0.01%
152 57 15.53% 0.01%
152 57 15.70% 0.01%
153 56 3.77% 0.01%
153 56 1.74% 0.01%
154 53 1.18% 0.01%
154 53 8.05% 0.01%
155 52 1.64% 0.01%
156 49 2.38% 0.01%
157 46 10.38% -
158 43 15.47% -
158 43 2.78% -
159 40 20.20% -
160 39 28.89% -
161 38 2.35% -
162 37 8.83% -
162 37 13.75% -
163 36 1.60% -
164 33 9.07% -
164 33 2.70% -
165 29 1.72% -
166 21 3.13% -
167 19 12.03% -
167 19 2.49% -
167 19 0.94% -
168 18 4.72% -
169 16 1.37% -
169 16 3.09% -
170 15 1.86% -
170 15 5.73% -
170 15 11.19% -
171 14 2.56% -
171 14 14.29% -
172 13 2.50% -
173 12 1.79% -
174 11 1.03% -
175 10 5.00% -
176 9 11.69% -
177 7 0.65% -
177 7 1.29% -
177 7 0.34% -
178 6 0.12% -
179 5 1.71% -
179 5 0.60% -
179 5 1.06% -
180 4 1.73% -
180 4 0.50% -
180 4 0.31% -
181 3 0.14% -
182 2 0.16% -
183 1 0.35% -
183 1 0.45% -

List of cities with no Black Population in Virginia

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the following cities in Virginia have no recorded Black population*:
  • Cleveland
  • Clifton
  • Clinchport
  • Columbia
  • Duffield
  • Fries
  • Glen Lyn
  • Hallwood
  • Hillsboro
  • Monterey
  • New Castle
  • Nickelsville
  • St. Charles
  • Tangier
  • The Plains
  • Wachapreague
  • Washington
* These cities were not included in the ranking above, as they do not meet the population criteria. It is possible that a small population exists but was not reported or captured due to limitations or variations in Census data collection and reporting.

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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.