Recently released Census figures show the number of Black Americans rose slightly over the last decade, climbing 2.2 million to 39.9 million. A Social Explorer analysis, however, finds the slow growth caused the percentage of Black Americans to fall from 12.2 percent to 12 percent of the total U.S. population.

The percentage of Black Americans rose in 1,671 of the nation's 3,143 counties, according to a Social Explorer analysis. Three North Dakota counties reported the greatest percentage increases in the nation: McKenzie, in the heart of the oil-rich Williston Basin (5,250 percent); neighboring Williams (3,480 percent); and Sargent, on the opposite end of the state (2,300 percent).

The nation's three counties with the highest percentage of Blacks were all in Mississippi; all registered declining numbers of Black Americans: Claiborne, which is 87.1 percent Black, lost 1.4 percent of its Black residents; Jefferson, 84.5 percent Black, reported a 7 percent decline in the number of Black Americans; and Holmes, 83.5 percent Black, registered 10.9 percent fewer Black residents than in 2010. Look at your county’s Black population with Social Explorer’s flexible, award-winning mapping tools.

Black Population, 2010-2020. Click here to explore further.

Author: Frank Bass