2025

Counties in New Jersey ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 21 counties in New Jersey based on their Black or African American population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Black population in New Jersey

View All
  • 1
    Essex County
    Black population in Essex County is 348,392
    36.38% of Essex County population is Black
  • 2
    Union County
    Black population in Union County is 133,225
    20.61% of Union County population is Black
  • 3
    Camden County
    Black population in Camden County is 115,158
    20.03% of Camden County population is Black
  • 4
    Middlesex County
    Black population in Middlesex County is 109,839
    11.64% of Middlesex County population is Black
  • 5
    Hudson County
    Black population in Hudson County is 109,334
    12.91% of Hudson County population is Black

List of 21 counties in New Jersey by Black Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Black Population
County
Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total New Jersey Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Essex County 348,392 36.38% 24.46%
2 Union County 133,225 20.61% 9.35%
3 Camden County 115,158 20.03% 8.09%
4 Middlesex County 109,839 11.64% 7.71%
5 Hudson County 109,334 12.91% 7.68%
6 Burlington County 93,268 18.40% 6.55%
7 Mercer County 83,144 19.78% 5.84%
8 74,621 6.97% 5.24%
9 64,927 10.43% 4.56%
10 50,555 7.27% 3.55%
11 46,341 15.22% 3.25%
12 39,063 12.02% 2.74%
13 38,368 10.11% 2.69%
14 32,968 18.50% 2.31%
15 28,075 4.07% 1.97%
16 23,932 4.24% 1.68%
17 10,614 15.32% 0.75%
18 8,086 6.77% 0.57%
19 5,035 4.98% 0.35%
20 4,957 3.15% 0.35%
21 4,259 3.07% 0.30%

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 counties in New Jersey 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 counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Black .
  2. % of Total New Jersey 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.
  • Counties 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.