Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released its report "The Black Population: 2010."
The 2010 Census found that 14 percent of the U.S. population identified themselves as black, "either alone or in combination with one or more other races."
From a U.S. Census Bureau press release:
Of the total U.S. population of 308.7 million on April 1, 2010, 38.9 million people, or 13 percent, identified as black alone. In addition, 3.1 million people, or 1 percent, reported as black in combination with one or more other races. Together, these two groups comprise the black alone-or-in-combination population and totaled 42.0 million.
Detroit has highest concentration of blacks living in an urban area
Census officials report that of the major cities in the U.S. (cities with 100,000 people in them or more), Detroit had the highest percentage of people identifying as black, or black in combination with other races, at 84 percent.
Here are the top ten:
- Detroit, Michigan (84.3 percent)
- Jackson, Mississippi (80.1 percent)
- Miami Gardens, Florida (77.9 percent)
- Birmingham, Alabama (74.0 percent)
- Baltimore, Maryland (65.1 percent)
- Memphis, Tennessee (64.1 percent)
- New Orleans, Louisiana (61.2 percent)
- Flint, Michigan (59.5 percent)
- Montgomery, Alabama (57.4 percent)
- Savannah, Georgia (56.7 percent)
People reporting mixed race jumps by 76 percent
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 1,761,244 people reported being "black or African American
AND one or more other races."
In 2010, 3,091,424 did so - a 76 percent increase. Within this population, those reporting the mixed race of black and white made up for more than half of this increase.
Percentage of blacks living in the South increases
The Census found that the percentage of the "black alone" population increased slightly in the South - going from 55 percent of the total "black alone" population in 2000, to 57 percent in 2010.
The percentage of the "black alone" population decreased slightly in the Northeast and the Midwest:
- going from 17.6 percent in 2000 to 16.8 percent in 2010 in the Northeast
- and going from 18.8 percent in 2000 to 17.9 percent in 2010 in the Midwest
The U.S. Census reports that more data will be release on the black population in the coming decade. From the report:
Throughout the decade, the Census Bureau will release additional information on the Black population, including characteristics such as age, sex, and family type, which will provide greater insights into the demographic characteristics of this population at various geographic levels.
