What Cities Are Home to the Most African-Americans?
According to the 2010 Census, the U.S. cities with the highest African-American populations were New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; and Houston, Texas. When accounting for the population of surrounding metropolitan areas, the largest African-American populations were New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia.
Counting both people who defined themselves as only African-American and those who identified as several races including African-American, New York City had the largest African-American population in the United States. The city proper had a 2010 population of 2,228,145 African-Americans, and the New York City metropolitan area had a population of 3,362,616 African-Americans. The city of Chicago had 913,009 African-Americans, and Chicago’s metropolitan area had a population of 1,645,993 African-Americans. Philadelphia had an African-American population of 686,870, and its metropolitan area consisted of 1,241,780 African-Americans.
The city of Detroit had a population of 601,988 African-Americans. Its metropolitan area was eighth among U.S. metropolitan areas, with a population of 980,451 African-Americans. Notably, the city of Detroit had the highest percentage of any U.S. city of African-American population relative to total population, with 82 percent of its population being African-American. While the city of Atlanta only had 286,126 African-Americans, Atlanta’s metropolitan area consisted of 1,707,913 African-Americans, making it second in African-American population among U.S. metropolitan areas.
