Demographics
Further information: List of U.S. communities with African American majority populations, List of U.S. counties with African American majority populations, and List of U.S. states by African-American populationIn 1790, when the first U.S. Census was taken, Africans (including slaves and free people) numbered about 760,000—about 19.3% of the population. In 1860, at the start of the Civil War, the African American population had increased to 4.4 million, but the percentage rate dropped to 14% of the overall population of the country. The vast majority were slaves, with only 488,000 counted as "freemen". By 1900, the black population had doubled and reached 8.8 million. In 1910, about 90% of African Americans lived in the South, but large numbers began migrating north looking for better job opportunities and living conditions, and to escape Jim Crow laws and racial violence. The Great Migration, as it was called, spanned the 1890s to the 1970s. From 1916 through the 1960s, more than 6 million black people moved north. But in the 1970s and 1980s, that trend reversed, with more African Americans moving south to the Sun Belt than leaving it.
The following table of the African American population in the United States over time shows that the African American population, as a percentage of the total population, declined until 1930 and has been rising since then.
| Year | Number | % of total population |
% Change (10 yr) |
Slaves | % in slavery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 757,208 | 19.3% (highest) | – | 697,681 | 92% |
| 1800 | 1,002,037 | 18.9% | 32.3% | 893,602 | 89% |
| 1810 | 1,377,808 | 19.0% | 37.5% | 1,191,362 | 86% |
| 1820 | 1,771,656 | 18.4% | 28.6% | 1,538,022 | 87% |
| 1830 | 2,328,642 | 18.1% | 31.4% | 2,009,043 | 86% |
| 1840 | 2,873,648 | 16.8% | 23.4% | 2,487,355 | 87% |
| 1850 | 3,638,808 | 15.7% | 26.6% | 3,204,287 | 88% |
| 1860 | 4,441,830 | 14.1% | 22.1% | 3,953,731 | 89% |
| 1870 | 4,880,009 | 12.7% | 9.9% | – | – |
| 1880 | 6,580,793 | 13.1% | 34.9% | – | – |
| 1890 | 7,488,788 | 11.9% | 13.8% | – | – |
| 1900 | 8,833,994 | 11.6% | 18.0% | – | – |
| 1910 | 9,827,763 | 10.7% | 11.2% | – | – |
| 1920 | 10.5 million | 9.9% | 6.8% | – | – |
| 1930 | 11.9 million | 9.7% (lowest) | 13% | – | – |
| 1940 | 12.9 million | 9.8% | 8.4% | – | – |
| 1950 | 15.0 million | 10.0% | 16% | – | – |
| 1960 | 18.9 million | 10.5% | 26% | – | – |
| 1970 | 22.6 million | 11.1% | 20% | – | – |
| 1980 | 26.5 million | 11.7% | 17% | – | – |
| 1990 | 30.0 million | 12.1% | 13% | – | – |
| 2000 | 34.6 million | 12.3% | 15% | – | – |
| 2010 | 38.9 million | 12.6% | 12% | – | – |
| State/Territory | 1790 | 1800 | 1810 | 1820 | 1830 | 1840 | 1850 | 1860 | 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States of America | 19.3% | 18.9% | 19.0% | 18.4% | 18.1% | 16.8% | 15.7% | 14.1% | 12.7% | 13.1% | 11.9% | 11.6% | 10.7% | 9.9% | 9.7% | 9.8% | 10.0% | 10.5% | 11.1% | 11.7% | 12.1% | 12.3% | 12.6% |
| Alabama | 41.4% | 29.0% | 33.2% | 38.5% | 43.3% | 44.7% | 45.4% | 47.7% | 47.5% | 44.8% | 45.2% | 42.5% | 38.4% | 35.7% | 34.7% | 32.0% | 30.0% | 26.2% | 25.6% | 25.3% | 26.0% | 26.2% | |
| Alaska | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 4.1% | 3.5% | 3.3% | ||||||||||||
| Arizona | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 3.0% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 4.1% | |||||||
| Arkansas | 13.0% | 11.7% | 15.5% | 20.9% | 22.7% | 25.6% | 25.2% | 26.3% | 27.4% | 28.0% | 28.1% | 27.0% | 25.8% | 24.8% | 22.3% | 21.8% | 18.3% | 16.3% | 15.9% | 15.7% | 15.4% | ||
| California | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 4.4% | 5.6% | 7.0% | 7.7% | 7.4% | 6.7% | 6.2% | ||||||
| Colorado | 0.1% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 3.8% | 4.0% | |||||||
| Connecticut | 2.3% | 2.5% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 6.0% | 7.0% | 8.3% | 9.1% | 10.1% |
| Delaware | 21.6% | 22.4% | 23.8% | 24.0% | 24.9% | 25.0% | 22.2% | 19.3% | 18.2% | 18.0% | 16.8% | 16.6% | 15.4% | 13.6% | 13.7% | 13.5% | 13.7% | 13.6% | 14.3% | 16.1% | 16.9% | 19.2% | 21.4% |
| District of Columbia | 30.4% | 33.1% | 31.2% | 30.1% | 29.1% | 26.6% | 19.1% | 33.0% | 33.6% | 32.8% | 31.1% | 28.5% | 25.1% | 27.1% | 28.2% | 35.0% | 53.9% | 71.1% | 70.3% | 65.8% | 60.0% | 50.7% | |
| Florida | 47.1% | 48.7% | 46.0% | 44.6% | 48.8% | 47.0% | 42.5% | 43.7% | 41.0% | 34.0% | 29.4% | 27.1% | 21.8% | 17.8% | 15.3% | 13.8% | 13.6% | 14.6% | 16.0% | ||||
| Georgia | 35.9% | 37.1% | 42.5% | 44.4% | 42.6% | 41.0% | 42.4% | 44.0% | 46.0% | 47.0% | 46.7% | 46.7% | 45.1% | 41.7% | 36.8% | 34.7% | 30.9% | 28.5% | 25.9% | 26.8% | 27.0% | 28.7% | 30.5% |
| Hawaii | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.8% | 2.5% | 1.8% | 1.6% | |||||||||||
| Idaho | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.6% | ||||||||
| Illinois | 7.4% | 6.4% | 2.5% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 4.3% | 4.9% | 7.4% | 10.3% | 12.8% | 14.7% | 14.8% | 15.1% | 14.5% | |
| Indiana | 4.4% | 2.6% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 5.8% | 6.9% | 7.6% | 7.8% | 8.4% | 9.1% | |
| Iowa | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 2.9% | |||||
| Kansas | 0.6% | 4.7% | 4.3% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 4.2% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 5.8% | 5.7% | 5.9% | |||||||
| Kentucky | 17.0% | 18.6% | 20.2% | 22.9% | 24.7% | 24.3% | 22.5% | 20.4% | 16.8% | 16.5% | 14.4% | 13.3% | 11.4% | 9.8% | 8.6% | 7.5% | 6.9% | 7.1% | 7.2% | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.3% | 7.8% |
| Louisiana | 55.2% | 51.8% | 58.5% | 55.0% | 50.7% | 49.5% | 50.1% | 51.5% | 50.0% | 47.1% | 43.1% | 38.9% | 36.9% | 35.9% | 32.9% | 31.9% | 29.8% | 29.4% | 30.8% | 32.5% | 32.0% | ||
| Maine | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 1.2% |
| Maryland | 34.7% | 36.7% | 38.2% | 36.1% | 34.9% | 32.3% | 28.3% | 24.9% | 22.5% | 22.5% | 20.7% | 19.8% | 17.9% | 16.9% | 16.9% | 16.6% | 16.5% | 16.7% | 17.8% | 22.7% | 24.9% | 27.9% | 29.4% |
| Massachusetts | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 5.0% | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| Michigan | 3.7% | 3.0% | 2.1% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 4.0% | 6.9% | 9.2% | 11.2% | 12.9% | 13.9% | 14.2% | 14.2% | |
| Minnesota | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3.5% | 5.2% | ||||||
| Mississippi | 41.5% | 47.0% | 44.1% | 48.4% | 52.3% | 51.2% | 55.3% | 53.7% | 57.5% | 57.6% | 58.5% | 56.2% | 52.2% | 50.2% | 49.2% | 45.3% | 42.0% | 36.8% | 35.2% | 35.6% | 36.3% | 37.0% | |
| Missouri | 17.6% | 15.9% | 18.3% | 15.6% | 13.2% | 10.0% | 6.9% | 6.7% | 5.6% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 5.2% | 6.2% | 6.5% | 7.5% | 9.0% | 10.3% | 10.5% | 10.7% | 11.2% | 11.6% | ||
| Montana | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | ||||||||
| Nebraska | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 3.1% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 4.5% | |||||||
| Nevada | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 2.7% | 4.7% | 5.7% | 6.4% | 6.6% | 6.8% | 8.1% | |||||||
| New Hampshire | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 1.1% |
| New Jersey | 7.7% | 8.0% | 7.6% | 7.2% | 6.4% | 5.8% | 4.9% | 3.8% | 3.4% | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.7% | 5.2% | 5.5% | 6.6% | 8.5% | 10.7% | 12.6% | 13.4% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| New Mexico | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.1% | ||||||
| New York | 7.6% | 5.3% | 4.2% | 2.9% | 2.3% | 2.1% | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 3.3% | 4.2% | 6.2% | 8.4% | 11.9% | 13.7% | 15.9% | 15.9% | 15.9% |
| North Carolina | 26.8% | 29.4% | 32.2% | 34.4% | 35.9% | 35.6% | 36.4% | 36.4% | 36.6% | 38.0% | 34.7% | 33.0% | 31.6% | 29.8% | 29.0% | 27.5% | 25.8% | 24.5% | 22.2% | 22.4% | 22.0% | 21.6% | 21.5% |
| North Dakota | 1.0% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.2% | ||||||||
| Ohio | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 3.2% | 4.7% | 4.9% | 6.5% | 8.1% | 9.1% | 10.0% | 10.6% | 11.5% | 12.2% | |
| Oklahoma | 8.4% | 7.0% | 8.3% | 7.4% | 7.2% | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.6% | 6.7% | 6.8% | 7.4% | 7.6% | 7.4% | ||||||||||
| Oregon | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.8% | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | 2.4% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 3.3% | 4.5% | 4.7% | 6.1% | 7.5% | 8.6% | 8.8% | 9.2% | 10.0% | 10.8% |
| Rhode Island | 6.3% | 5.3% | 4.8% | 4.3% | 3.7% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 4.5% | 5.7% |
| South Carolina | 43.7% | 43.2% | 48.4% | 52.8% | 55.6% | 56.4% | 58.9% | 58.6% | 58.9% | 60.7% | 59.8% | 58.4% | 55.2% | 51.4% | 45.6% | 42.9% | 38.8% | 34.8% | 30.5% | 30.4% | 29.8% | 29.5% | 27.9% |
| South Dakota | 0.0% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 1.3% | |||||||
| Tennessee | 10.6% | 13.2% | 17.5% | 19.6% | 21.4% | 22.7% | 24.5% | 25.5% | 25.6% | 26.1% | 24.4% | 23.8% | 21.7% | 19.3% | 18.3% | 17.4% | 16.1% | 16.5% | 15.8% | 15.8% | 16.0% | 16.4% | 16.7% |
| Texas | 27.5% | 30.3% | 31.0% | 24.7% | 21.8% | 20.4% | 17.7% | 15.9% | 14.7% | 14.4% | 12.7% | 12.4% | 12.5% | 12.0% | 11.9% | 11.5% | 11.8% | ||||||
| Utah | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.1% | ||||||
| Vermont | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Virginia | 43.4% | 44.6% | 47.1% | 47.8% | 47.9% | 46.9% | 45.0% | 43.3% | 41.9% | 41.8% | 38.4% | 35.6% | 32.6% | 29.9% | 26.8% | 24.7% | 22.1% | 20.6% | 18.5% | 18.9% | 18.8% | 19.6% | 19.4% |
| Washington | 12.7% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 3.6% | ||||||
| West Virginia | 9.5% | 9.8% | 11.5% | 12.1% | 11.2% | 9.6% | 7.8% | 5.6% | 4.1% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.5% | 5.3% | 5.9% | 6.6% | 6.2% | 5.7% | 4.8% | 3.9% | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 3.4% |
| Wisconsin | 1.2% | 1.8% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 1.9% | 2.9% | 3.9% | 5.0% | 5.7% | 6.3% | |||
| Wyoming | 2.0% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | ||||||||
| Puerto Rico | 8.0% | 12.4% |
By 1990, the African American population reached about 30 million and represented 12% of the U.S. population, roughly the same proportion as in 1900. In 2010, 38.9 million Americans identified as "Black or African American," representing 12.6% of the population. Controversy has surrounded the "accurate" population count of African Americans for decades. The NAACP believed it was under counted intentionally to minimize the significance of the black population in order to reduce their political power base.
At the time of the 2000 Census, 54.8% of African Americans lived in the South. In that year, 17.6% of African Americans lived in the Northeast and 18.7% in the Midwest, while only 8.9% lived in the western states. The west does have a sizable black population in certain areas, however. California, the nation's most populous state, has the fifth largest African American population, only behind New York, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 2.05% of African Americans identified as Hispanic or Latino in origin, many of whom may be of Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Haitian, or other Latin American descent. The only self-reported ancestral groups larger than African Americans are the Irish and Germans. Because many African Americans trace their ancestry to colonial American origins, some simply self-identify as "American".
Read more about this topic: African American