2025

Counties in North Carolina ranked by Non-Hispanic Black Population

This list ranks the 98 counties in North Carolina based on their Non-Hispanic 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 13, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Non-Hispanic Black population in North Carolina

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  • 1
    Mecklenburg County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Mecklenburg County is 340,672
    27.59% of Mecklenburg County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 2
    Wake County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Wake County is 217,801
    17.39% of Wake County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 3
    Guilford County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Guilford County is 182,101
    31.08% of Guilford County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 4
    Cumberland County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Cumberland County is 122,573
    32.57% of Cumberland County population is Non-Hispanic Black
  • 5
    Durham County
    Non-Hispanic Black population in Durham County is 108,113
    30.00% of Durham County population is Non-Hispanic Black

List of 98 counties in North Carolina by Non-Hispanic Black Population

View Methodology
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Rank by Non-Hispanic Black Population
County
Non-Hispanic Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total North Carolina Non-Hispanic Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Mecklenburg County 340,672 27.59% 15.88%
2 Wake County 217,801 17.39% 10.16%
3 Guilford County 182,101 31.08% 8.49%
4 Cumberland County 122,573 32.57% 5.72%
5 Durham County 108,113 30.00% 5.04%
6 Forsyth County 96,455 22.98% 4.50%
7 Pitt County 60,121 33.20% 2.80%
8 42,734 17.03% 1.99%
9 40,133 16.17% 1.87%
10 38,667 38.72% 1.80%
11 37,414 15.33% 1.74%
12 35,566 27.25% 1.66%
13 34,240 18.30% 1.60%
14 30,742 37.07% 1.43%
15 27,741 18.78% 1.29%
16 27,218 53.83% 1.27%
17 27,106 22.35% 1.26%
18 26,797 10.16% 1.25%
19 25,678 10.44% 1.20%
20 24,935 48.95% 1.16%
21 24,874 10.43% 1.16%
22 22,892 14.38% 1.07%
23 21,689 10.60% 1.01%
24 21,622 37.41% 1.01%
25 20,715 45.57% 0.97%
26 20,355 18.72% 0.95%
27 18,385 17.31% 0.86%
28 17,867 27.09% 0.83%
29 17,252 29.40% 0.80%
30 16,452 21.40% 0.77%
31 15,986 16.38% 0.75%
32 15,675 8.50% 0.73%
33 15,054 9.53% 0.70%
34 14,692 23.69% 0.69%
35 14,644 4.98% 0.68%
36 14,429 27.31% 0.67%
37 14,143 32.40% 0.66%
38 13,566 30.53% 0.63%
39 12,966 35.24% 0.60%
40 12,855 7.37% 0.60%
41 11,695 7.48% 0.55%
42 11,564 54.72% 0.54%
43 11,288 15.92% 0.53%
44 11,137 21.28% 0.52%
45 10,489 58.12% 0.49%
46 10,222 44.85% 0.48%
47 10,143 21.47% 0.47%
48 10,001 23.81% 0.47%
49 9,844 8.86% 0.46%
50 9,779 32.26% 0.46%
51 9,326 51.61% 0.43%
52 8,913 38.81% 0.42%
53 8,824 44.42% 0.41%
54 8,594 5.56% 0.40%
55 8,060 9.56% 0.38%
56 7,842 11.70% 0.37%
57 7,138 29.60% 0.33%
58 6,970 10.59% 0.32%
59 6,480 27.98% 0.30%
60 5,329 47.24% 0.25%
61 5,240 7.64% 0.24%
62 5,236 5.46% 0.24%
63 5,221 5.69% 0.24%
64 4,546 31.59% 0.21%
65 4,232 15.07% 0.20%
66 3,403 2.73% 0.16%
67 3,294 3.89% 0.15%
68 3,247 29.84% 0.15%
69 2,878 3.94% 0.13%
70 2,861 20.77% 0.13%
71 2,520 25.21% 0.12%
72 2,493 3.29% 0.12%
73 2,461 3.53% 0.11%
74 2,273 17.55% 0.11%
75 1,734 3.67% 0.08%
76 1,723 3.70% 0.08%
77 1,543 3.30% 0.07%
78 1,468 3.85% 0.07%
79 1,239 3.52% 0.06%
80 1,097 31.14% 0.05%
81 1,052 2.66% 0.05%
82 1,037 2.61% 0.05%
83 1,002 4.78% 0.05%
84 962 2.08% 0.04%
85 891 7.62% 0.04%
86 889 1.55% 0.04%
87 742 4.05% 0.03%
88 603 0.92% 0.03%
89 449 1.48% 0.02%
90 433 1.11% 0.02%
91 266 0.96% 0.01%
92 214 0.93% 0.01%
93 212 1.40% 0.01%
94 202 1.74% 0.01%
95 151 1.29% 0.01%
96 118 0.76% 0.01%
97 104 0.54% -
98 56 0.68% -

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 North Carolina by their Non-Hispanic Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic Black alone, while others identify as Non-Hispanic Black along with another race (such as Non-Hispanic Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Black .
  • We’ve used the “Non-Hispanic Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Non-Hispanic Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic Black .
  2. % of Total North Carolina Non-Hispanic Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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 Non-Hispanic 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.