Introduction & Overview

AFRICAN AMERICANS: FAST FACTS

  • US Black Population is approximately 15.21% of the total population in 2026 (51.6 million)
  • New York City has the most Black residents (3.9M)
  • Atlanta has the highest share of any large metro (37%)
  • College degree attainment has nearly doubled since 2000, reaching 28% of Black adults — Black women drove most of that gain
  • Median Black household income was $57,200 in 2024, ranging from $56K (single-race) to $67K (multiracial)

Population Growth and Distribution

The African American population today is comprised of individuals of mixed ethnic and cultural heritage. The slave trade resulted in a diaspora from West and Central Africa to many parts of the world, including the West Indies, South America, Central America, and the United States.

Over the centuries in all of these parts of the world, Africans has mixed with other local ethnic groups. In America this intermixing has largely been with American Indians and European Americans.

There has been continuous growth in the overall population of Blacks in the United States since 1790. In 1790, the year of the first U.S. census, the Black population numbered about 757,000. Since 1970 there has been considerable growth in the population of Blacks.

The Black population has grown by more than 12 million since 2000, rising from 36.2 million to an estimated 48.3 million in 2023 — a 33% increase. Going back further, the population roughly doubled between 1970 and 2010.

The growth in the proportion of Blacks 65 and over since 1970, in comparison to the growth rate of Blacks under 18 years and those 18 to 64 years, shows a considerably more rapid rate for the older group than for the younger age groups. The Black or African American  population increased for all broad age categories except under age 18, which decreased by more than 6% from 2010 to 2020.

Termonology

The US Census uses the term:

“Black or African American” – A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

After years of scientific research, extensive public engagement, and Federal expert review and deliberation, on March 28, 2024, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published the results of its review of Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (SPD 15) and issued updated standards for maintaining, collecting and presenting race/ethnicity data across federal agencies.

“Black or African American

Individuals with origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa, including, for example, African American, Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, Ethiopian, and Somali.”

Population Size

The U.S. Black population has hit an all-time high in 2026, with Census Bureau data showing just over 51.6 million Americans identifying as Black — either solely or alongside another racial identity — making up about 15% of the country’s total population of 340 million.

In 2023, the population of African Americans over the age of 65 reached a total of 6 million, accounting for 12% of the African American population in the US (Pew Research Center, 2023). That shows a growth from 2019, where the African American population over the age of 65 was 4.9 million. By 2060, the African American older population (65+) is projected to grow to 12.1 million. Similar growth is projected for African Americans age 85 and older, raising to 2.2 million in 2060 from 511,540 in 2019 (ACL, 2021).

In 2019, slightly more than half (52%) of all older African Americans lived in eight states:

  • New York (396,670),
  • Florida (394,307),
  • Georgia (362,535),
  • Texas (350,106),
  • California (304,751),
  • North Carolina (298,365),
  • Maryland (238,219), and
  • Illinois (237,467).

Changes in Geographic Distribution

Along with growth in the population of Blacks, there have been noticeable changes in their geographical distribution in the United States. In 1890, the year of the first census in which data were made available on urban-rural distribution of Blacks, 90% of all Blacks lived in the rural southern United States.

By 1970, however, the 1890 patterns were reversed: about 81% of Blacks had become concentrated in urban areas.

Since 1980, the Black immigrant population has increased fivefold, contributing to demographic shifts across states. By total population 56% of the US Black Population lives in the South as of 2023, 17% live in the Northeast and Midwest while 10% live in the west.

Texas has the most Black Americans of any state, with about 4.3 million, followed by Florida at 4.0 million, Georgia at 3.7 million.

Growth has been fastest in states that historically had few Black residents, led by Utah (up 104% since 2010), Arizona, Minnesota, and Nevada. In raw numbers, Texas, Florida, and Georgia added the most Black residents, while Illinois, Mississippi, and D.C. saw slight declines.

New York City remains the metro area with the most Black residents (3.9 million), though Atlanta has the highest share — nearly 4 in 10 residents there identify as Black. Dallas and Houston saw the biggest percentage gains among major metros since 2010.

Black Americans are younger on average than the rest of the country, with a median age of 33.7 versus 40.2 for non-Black Americans, and a higher share — 27% — under the age of 18.