Census 2000 showed

that the United States

population on April 1,

2000 was 281.4 million. Of the total, 

36.4 million, or 

12.9 percent, reported1

Black or African

American. This number

includes 34.7 million

people, or 12.3 percent,

who reported only Black

in addition to 1.8 million people, or 0.6 percent, who reported

Black as well as one or

more other races. The

term Black is used in

the text of this report to

refer to the Black or

African American population, while Black or

African American is used in the text tables

and graphs. Census 2000 asked separate

questions on race and Hispanic or Latino

origin. Hispanics who reported their race

as Black, either alone or in combination

with one or more other races, are included in the numbers for Blacks.

This report, part of a series that analyzes

population and housing data collected

from Census 2000, provides a portrait of

the Black population in the United States

and discusses its distribution at both the

national and subnational levels. It is based

on the Census 2000 Redistricting Data

(Public Law 94-171) Summary File, which

was among the first Census 2000 data

products to be released and is used by

each state to draw boundaries for legislative districts.2

The term “Black or African American”

refers to people having origins in any of

the Black race groups of Africa. It includes

people who reported “Black, African Am.,

or Negro” or wrote in entries such as

African American, Afro American,

Nigerian, or Haitian.

Data on race has been collected since the

first U.S. decennial census in 1790.

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued August 2001

C2KBR/01-5

The Black Population: 2000

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Jesse McKinnon Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Question on Race 

From Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

What is this person's race? Mark one or more races to

indicate what this person considers himself/herself to be.

6.

White

Black, African Am., or Negro

American Indian or Alaska Native — Print name of enrolled or principal tribe.

Some other race — Print race.

Japanese

Korean

Vietnamese

Native Hawaiian

Guamanian or Chamorro

Samoan

Other Pacific Islander — Print race.

Asian Indian

Chinese

Filipino

Other Asian — Print race.

✗

1 In this report, the term “reported” is used to refer

to the answers provided by respondents, as well as

responses assigned during the editing and imputation

processes.

2 This report discusses data for 50 states and the

District of Columbia, but not Puerto Rico. The Census

2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary

File was released on a state-by-state basis in March

2001.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

Blacks have been enumerated in

every census.

The question on race was

changed for Census 2000.

For Census 2000, the question on

race was asked of every individual

living in the United States and

responses reflect self-identification.

Respondents were asked to report

the race or races they considered

themselves and other members of

their households to be. 

The question on race for Census

2000 was different from the one for

the 1990 census in several ways.

Most significantly, respondents

were given the option of selecting

one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities.3

Because of these changes, the

Census 2000 data on race are not

directly comparable with data from

the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when

interpreting changes in the racial

composition of the United States

population over time. 

The Census 2000 question on race

included 15 separate response categories and 3 areas where respondents could write in a more specific

race (see Figure 1). The response

categories and write-in answers

were combined to create the five

standard Office of Management and

Budget race categories plus the

Census Bureau category of “Some

other race.” The six race categories

include:

• White;

• Black or African American; 

• American Indian and Alaska

Native;

• Asian;

• Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander; and 

• Some other race.

For a complete explanation of the

race categories used in Census 2000,

see the Census 2000 Brief, Overview

of Race and Hispanic Origin.

4

The data collected by Census

2000 on race can be divided

into two broad categories: the

race alone population and the

race in combination population.

People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one

race are referred to as the race

alone population, or the group

who reported only one race. For

example, respondents who marked

only the Black, African American,

or Negro category on the census

questionnaire would be included in

the Black alone population.

Individuals who chose more than

one of the six race categories are

referred to as the race in combination population, or as the group

who reported more than one race.

For example, respondents who

reported they were “Black or African

American and White” or “Black or

African American and Asian and

American Indian and Alaska Native”5

would be included in the Black in

combination population. 

The maximum number of

people reporting Black is

reflected in the Black alone or

in combination category.

One way to define the Black population is to combine those respondents who reported only Black with

those who reported Black as well as

one or more other races. This creates the Black alone or in combination population. Another way to

think of the Black alone or in combination population is the total number of people who identified entirely or partially as Black. This group

is also described as people who

reported Black, whether or not they

reported any other races.

The Black population: 

a snapshot.

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census

2000 who reported Black alone as

well as those who reported Black

and at least one other race.

In the total population, 34.7 million

people, or 12.3 percent, reported

only Black. An additional 1.8 million

people reported Black and at least

one other race. Within this group,

the most common combinations

were “Black and White” (45 percent), followed by “Black and Some

other race” (24 percent), “Black and

American Indian and Alaska Native”

(10 percent), and “Black and White

and American Indian and Alaska

Native” (6 percent). These four combination categories accounted for

85 percent of all Blacks who reported two or more races. Thus, 

36.4 million, or 12.9 percent of the

total population, reported Black

alone or in combination with one or

more other races.

3 Other changes included terminology and

formatting changes, such as spelling out

“American” instead of “Amer.” for the American

Indian and Alaska Native category and adding

“Native” to the Hawaiian response category. In

the layout of the Census 2000 questionnaire,

the seven Asian response categories were

alphabetized and grouped together, as were the

four Pacific Islander categories after the Native

Hawaiian category. The three separate American

Indian and Alaska Native identifiers in the 1990

census (i.e., Indian (Amer.), Eskimo, and Aleut)

were combined into a single identifier in

Census 2000. Also, American Indians and

Alaska Natives could report more than one

tribe.

4 Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin:

2000, U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Brief,

C2KBR/01-1, March 2001, is available on the

U.S. Census Bureau’s Internet site at 

www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/

briefs.html. 5 The race in combination categories are

denoted by quotations around the combinations with the conjunction and in bold and italicized print to indicate the separate races that

comprise the combination.
The Black population

increased faster than the 

total population between 1990

and 2000.

Because of the changes made to the

question on race for Census 2000,

there are at least two ways to present the change in the total number

of Blacks in the United States. The

difference in the Black population

between 1990 and 2000 using the

race alone concept for 2000 and

the difference in the Black population between 1990 and 2000 using

the race alone or in combination

concept for 2000 provides a

“minimum-maximum” range for the

change in the Black population

between 1990 and 2000.

The 1990 census showed there were

30.0 million Blacks. Using the Black

alone population in 2000 shows an

increase of 4.7 million, or 15.6 percent, in the total Black population

between 1990 and 2000. If the Black

alone or in combination population is

used, an increase of 6.4 million, or

21.5 percent, results. Thus, from

1990 to 2000, the minimummaximum range for the increase in

the Black population was 15.6 percent to 21.5 percent. In comparison,

the total population grew by 

13.2 percent, from 248.7 million in

1990 to 281.4 million in 2000.

THE GEOGRAPHIC

DISTRIBUTION OF THE

BLACK POPULATION

The following discussion of the

geographic distribution of the Black

population focuses on the Black

alone or in combination population.

As the upper bound of the Black

population, this group includes all

respondents who reported Black,

whether or not they reported any

other race.6 Hereafter in the text of

this section, the term “Black” will be

used to refer to those who reported

Black, whether or not they reported

any other race. However, in the

tables and graphs, data for both the

Black alone and the Black alone or

in combination populations are

shown.

The majority of the Black

population lived in the South.

According to Census 2000, of all

respondents who reported Black,

54 percent lived in the South (see

Figure 2), 19 percent lived in the

Midwest, 18 percent lived in the

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Table 1.

Black or African American Population:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Race Number

Percent of total

population

Total population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,421,906 100.0

Black or African American alone or in combination with

one or more other races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,419,434 12.9

Black or African American alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,658,190 12.3

Black or African American in combination with one

or more other races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,761,244 0.6

Black or African American; White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784,764 0.3

Black or African American; Some other race . . . . . . 417,249 0.1

Black or African American; American Indian and

Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182,494 0.1

Black or African American; White; American Indian

and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,207 -

All other combinations including Black or African

American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264,530 0.1

Not Black or African American alone or in combination

with one or more other races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245,002,472 87.1

- Percentage rounds to 0.0.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)

Summary File, Table PL1.

Figure 2.

Percent Distribution of the Black or African 

American Population by Region: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and 

definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Black or African

American alone

or in combination

Black or African

American alone

Northeast West Midwest South

18.0 18.8 53.6 9.6

17.618.8 54.8 8.9

6 As a matter of policy, the Census Bureau

does not advocate the use of the alone or in

combination population over the alone population. The use of the alone or in combination

population in this section does not imply that it

is a preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. It is only one of many ways that the

data on race from Census 2000 can be presented and discussed.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2.

Black or African American Population for the United States, Regions, and States, and for

Puerto Rico:1990 and 2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Area

1990 2000

Total

population

Black or African

American population

Total

population

Black or African American

alone population

Black or African American

alone or in combination

population

Black or African

American in

combination

population only

as a percent of

Black or African

American alone

or in combination

Number population

Percent of

total

population Number

Percent of

total

population Number

Percent of

total

population

United States .... 248,709,873 29,980,996 12.1 281,421,906 34,658,190 12.3 36,419,434 12.9 4.8

Region

Northeast ......... 50,809,229 5,613,222 11.0 53,594,378 6,099,881 11.4 6,556,909 12.2 7.0

Midwest........... 59,668,632 5,715,940 9.6 64,392,776 6,499,733 10.1 6,838,669 10.6 5.0

South ............ 85,445,930 15,828,888 18.5 100,236,820 18,981,692 18.9 19,528,231 19.5 2.8

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,786,082 2,828,010 5.4 63,197,932 3,076,884 4.9 3,495,625 5.5 12.0

State

Alabama .......... 4,040,587 1,020,705 25.3 4,447,100 1,155,930 26.0 1,168,998 26.3 1.1

Alaska ............ 550,043 22,451 4.1 626,932 21,787 3.5 27,147 4.3 19.7

Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . 3,665,228 110,524 3.0 5,130,632 158,873 3.1 185,599 3.6 14.4

Arkansas.......... 2,350,725 373,912 15.9 2,673,400 418,950 15.7 427,152 16.0 1.9

California. ......... 29,760,021 2,208,801 7.4 33,871,648 2,263,882 6.7 2,513,041 7.4 9.9

Colorado .......... 3,294,394 133,146 4.0 4,301,261 165,063 3.8 190,717 4.4 13.5

Connecticut ........ 3,287,116 274,269 8.3 3,405,565 309,843 9.1 339,078 10.0 8.6

Delaware.......... 666,168 112,460 16.9 783,600 150,666 19.2 157,152 20.1 4.1

District of Columbia. . 606,900 399,604 65.8 572,059 343,312 60.0 350,455 61.3 2.0

Florida. ........... 12,937,926 1,759,534 13.6 15,982,378 2,335,505 14.6 2,471,730 15.5 5.5

Georgia ........... 6,478,216 1,746,565 27.0 8,186,453 2,349,542 28.7 2,393,425 29.2 1.8

Hawai . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,108,229 27,195 2.5 1,211,537 22,003 1.8 33,343 2.8 34.0

Idaho............. 1,006,749 3,370 0.3 1,293,953 5,456 0.4 8,127 0.6 32.9

Illinois ............ 11,430,602 1,694,273 14.8 12,419,293 1,876,875 15.1 1,937,671 15.6 3.1

Indiana . .......... 5,544,159 432,092 7.8 6,080,485 510,034 8.4 538,015 8.8 5.2

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,776,755 48,090 1.7 2,926,324 61,853 2.1 72,512 2.5 14.7

Kansas ........... 2,477,574 143,076 5.8 2,688,418 154,198 5.7 170,610 6.3 9.6

Kentucky .......... 3,685,296 262,907 7.1 4,041,769 295,994 7.3 311,878 7.7 5.1

Louisiana. ......... 4,219,973 1,299,281 30.8 4,468,976 1,451,944 32.5 1,468,317 32.9 1.1

Maine ............ 1,227,928 5,138 0.4 1,274,923 6760 0.5 9,553 0.7 29.2

Maryland . ......... 4,781,468 1,189,899 24.9 5,296,486 1,477,411 27.9 1,525,036 28.8 3.1

Massachusetts ..... 6,016,425 300,130 5.0 6,349,097 343,454 5.4 398,479 6.3 13.8

Michigan .......... 9,295,297 1,291,706 13.9 9,938,444 1,412,742 14.2 1,474,613 14.8 4.2

Minnesota ......... 4,375,099 94,944 2.2 4,919,479 171,731 3.5 202,972 4.1 15.4

Mississippi......... 2,573,216 915,057 35.6 2,844,658 1,033,809 36.3 1,041,708 36.6 0.8

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . 5,117,073 548,208 10.7 5,595,211 629,391 11.2 655,377 11.7 4.0

Montana .......... 799,065 2,381 0.3 902,195 2,692 0.3 4,441 0.5 39.4

Nebraska. ......... 1,578,385 57,404 3.6 1,711,263 68,541 4.0 75,833 4.4 9.6

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . 1,201,833 78,771 6.6 1,998,257 135,477 6.8 150,508 7.5 10.0

New Hampshire . . . . 1,109,252 7,198 0.6 1,235,786 9,035 0.7 12,218 1.0 26.1

New Jersey ........ 7,730,188 1,036,825 13.4 8,414,350 1,141,821 13.6 1,211,750 14.4 5.8

New Mexico ....... 1,515,069 30,210 2.0 1,819,046 34,343 1.9 42,412 2.3 19.0

New York. . . . . . . . . . 17,990,455 2,859,055 15.9 18,976,457 3,014,385 15.9 3,234,165 17.0 6.8

North Carolina. ..... 6,628,637 1,456,323 22.0 8,049,313 1,737,545 21.6 1,776,283 22.1 2.2

North Dakota. . . . . . . 638,800 3,524 0.6 642,200 3,916 0.6 5,372 0.8 27.1

Ohio ............. 10,847,115 1,154,826 10.6 11,353,140 1,301,307 11.5 1,372,501 12.1 5.2

Oklahoma ......... 3,145,585 233,801 7.4 3,450,654 260,968 7.6 284,766 8.3 8.4

Oregon ........... 2,842,321 46,178 1.6 3,421,399 55,662 1.6 72,647 2.1 23.4

Pennsylvania ....... 11,881,643 1,089,795 9.2 12,281,054 1,224,612 10.0 1,289,123 10.5 5.0

Rhode Island....... 1,003,464 38,861 3.9 1,048,319 46,908 4.5 58,051 5.5 19.2

South Carolina ..... 3,486,703 1,039,884 29.8 4,012,012 1,185,216 29.5 1,200,901 29.9 1.3

South Dakota . ..... 696,004 3,258 0.5 754,844 4,685 0.6 6,687 0.9 29.9

Tennessee......... 4,877,185 778,035 16.0 5,689,283 932,809 16.4 953,349 16.8 2.2

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,986,510 2,021,632 11.9 20,851,820 2,404,566 11.5 2,493,057 12.0 3.5

Utah ............. 1,722,850 11,576 0.7 2,233,169 17,657 0.8 24,382 1.1 27.6

Vermont .......... 562,758 1,951 0.3 608,827 3,063 0.5 4,492 0.7 31.8

Virginia ........... 6,187,358 1,162,994 18.8 7,078,515 1,390,293 19.6 1,441,207 20.4 3.5

Washington ........ 4,866,692 149,801 3.1 5,894,121 190,267 3.2 238,398 4.0 20.2

West Virginia....... 1,793,477 56,295 3.1 1,808,344 57,232 3.2 62,817 3.5 8.9

Wisconsin . ........ 4,891,769 244,539 5.0 5,363,675 304,460 5.7 326,506 6.1 6.8

Wyoming .......... 453,588 3,606 0.8 493,782 3,722 0.8 4,863 1.0 23.5

Puerto Rico ......... 3,522,037 (X) (X) 3,808,610 302,933 8.0 416,296 10.9 27.2

X Not applicable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1; 1990 Census of Population, General

Population Characteristics (1990 CP-1).
Northeast, and 10 percent lived in

the West.7

The South had the largest Black

population, as well as the highest

proportion of Blacks in its total population: 20 percent of all respondents in the South reported Black

compared with 12 percent in the

Northeast, 11 percent in the

Midwest, and 6 percent in the West.

About three-fifths of all

people who reported Black

lived in ten states.

The ten states with the largest Black

populations in 2000 were New

York, California, Texas, Florida,

Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina,

Maryland, Michigan, and Louisiana

(see Table 2). Combined, these

states represented 58 percent of the

total Black population, but only 

49 percent of the total population.

Five of these ten states had Black

populations greater than 2 million:

New York (3.2 million); California,

Texas, and Florida (about 2.5 million each); and Georgia (2.4 million).

In the South, ten states (Texas,

Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,

Maryland, Louisiana, Virginia, South

Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi)

had Black populations over one million and, when combined, they represented 47 percent of the Black

population in the country. 

In six states, Blacks represented

over 25 percent of the total population, and all of them were located in

the South — Mississippi (37 percent); Louisiana (33 percent); South

Carolina (30 percent); Georgia and

Maryland (29 percent) each; and

Alabama (26 percent). The District

of Columbia, a state equivalent, had

the highest proportion of Blacks

with 61 percent. 

In 13 states, Blacks represented less

than 3 percent of the total population. Seven of those states were

located in the West — Hawaii, New

Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming,

Idaho, and Montana; three in the

Midwest — Iowa, South Dakota, and

North Dakota; and three in the

Northeast — New Hampshire, Maine

and Vermont.

The Black population was

concentrated in counties in

the South.

The Black population is still highly

concentrated — 64 percent of all

counties (3,141 counties) in the

United States had fewer than 6 percent Black, but in 96 counties,

Blacks comprised 50 percent or

more of the total county population

(see Figure 3). Ninety-five of those

counties were located in the South

and were distributed across the

Coastal and Lowland South in a

loose arc. With the notable exceptions of Baltimore city (a county

equivalent) and Prince George’s

County, in Maryland, generally

these counties were nonmetropolitan. St. Louis City, Missouri in the

Midwest was the only county equivalent outside the South where

Blacks exceeded 50 percent of the

total population. 

Concentrations of Blacks in the

Midwest and West tended to be

either in counties located within

metropolitan areas or in counties

containing universities or military

bases or both. Metropolitan

concentrations tended to be in central counties containing older central cities. 

Although Blacks were not as concentrated in Midwestern counties,

in some metropolitan counties, such

as around Chicago, Illinois; Gary,

Indiana; and Detroit, Michigan,

Blacks comprised a sizeable proportion of the population. In the

Northeast, Blacks were concentrated

in a band of counties extending

from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to

Providence, Rhode Island and along

the Hudson Valley northward from

New York. Western counties with

large concentrations of Blacks were

located in Southern California, the

San Francisco and Sacramento

areas, around Denver and Colorado

Springs, and in the Seattle and

Tacoma area in Washington. Clark

County, Nevada (Las Vegas area)

also stood out distinctly from surrounding counties in Nevada, Utah,

and Arizona.

The places with the largest

Black populations were New

York and Chicago.

Census 2000 showed that, of all

places8 in the United States with

populations of 100,000 or more,

New York had the largest Black

population with 2.3 million,

followed by Chicago (1.1 million)

as shown in Table 3. Three other

places — Detroit, Philadelphia, and

Houston — had Black populations

between 500,000 and 1 million.

Five of the ten places with the

largest Black population —

Baltimore, Houston, Memphis,

Washington, DC, and New Orleans

— were in the South.

U.S. Census Bureau 5

8 Census 2000 showed 245 places in the

United States with 100,000 or more population. They included 238 incorporated places

(including four city-county consolidations)

and seven census designated places that

were not legally incorporated. For a list of

these places by state, see www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000/phc-t6.html.

7 The South region includes the states of

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia,

and the District of Columbia. The Midwest

region includes the states of Illinois, Indiana,

Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,

Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota,

and Wisconsin. The Northeast region includes

the states of Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,

New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and

Vermont. The West region includes the states of

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,

Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
U.S. pe

Percent Black or African American Alone or In Combination: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File. American FactFinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools.

U.S. pe

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)Figure 3.

0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 

0 100 Miles

6 U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Census Bureau 7

Of the ten largest places in the

United States, Detroit had the largest

proportion of Blacks, 83 percent, followed by Philadelphia (44 percent),

and Chicago (38 percent). Blacks

represented less than 10 percent of

the population in Phoenix (6 percent), San Antonio (7 percent), and

San Diego (9 percent). 

Two places — New York and

Chicago — together accounted for 

9 percent of the total Black population. The ten largest places for

Blacks accounted for 20 percent of

the total Black population. 

Among places of 100,000 or more

population, the highest proportion

of Blacks was in Gary, Indiana, with

85 percent, followed by Detroit,

Michigan with 83 percent (see

Figure 4). The next eight places

with the highest proportion of

Blacks had populations over 58 percent Black. Of these 10 places,

Table 3.

Ten Largest Places in Total Population and in Black or African American Population:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Place

Total population Black or African

American alone

Black or African

American alone

or in combination

Percent of total

population

Rank Number Rank Number Rank Number

Black or

African

American

alone

Black or

African

American

alone or in

combination

New York, NY. . . . . . . . . . . 1 8,008,278 1 2,129,762 1 2,274,049 26.6 28.4

Los Angeles, CA . . . . . . . . 2 3,694,820 7 415,195 6 444,635 11.2 12.0

Chicago, IL . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2,896,016 2 1,065,009 2 1,084,221 36.8 37.4

Houston, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1,953,631 5 494,496 5 505,101 25.3 25.9

Philadelphia, PA. . . . . . . . . 5 1,517,550 4 655,824 4 672,162 43.2 44.3

Phoenix, AZ . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1,321,045 60 67,416 53 76,065 5.1 5.8

San Diego, CA. . . . . . . . . . 7 1,223,400 36 96,216 32 109,470 7.9 8.9

Dallas, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1,188,580 11 307,957 11 314,678 25.9 26.5

San Antonio, TX. . . . . . . . . 9 1,144,646 48 78,120 45 84,250 6.8 7.4

Detroit, MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 951,270 3 775,772 3 787,687 81.6 82.8

Baltimore, MD . . . . . . . . . . 17 651,154 6 418,951 7 424,449 64.3 65.2

Memphis, TN . . . . . . . . . . . 18 650,100 8 399,208 8 402,367 61.4 61.9

Washington, DC. . . . . . . . . 21 572,059 9 343,312 9 350,455 60.0 61.3

New Orleans, LA . . . . . . . . 31 484,674 10 325,947 10 329,171 67.3 67.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1.

Figure 4.

Ten Places of 100,000 or More Population With the 

Highest Percentage of Blacks or African Americans: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Black or African American alone or in combination

Black or African American alone

Richmond, VA

Washington, DC

Memphis, TN

Atlanta, GA

Baltimore, MD

New Orleans, LA

Jackson, MS

Birmingham, AL

Detroit, MI

Gary, IN 85.3

82.8

74.0

71.1

67.9

65.2

62.1

61.9

61.3

58.1

84.0

81.6

73.5

70.6

67.3

64.3

61.4

61.4

60.0

57.2
eight were in the South, and two

were in the Midwest. 

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON

THE BLACK POPULATION

What proportion of

respondents reporting Black

also reported a Hispanic

origin?

The Office of Management and

Budget defines Hispanic or Latino

as “a person of Cuban, Mexican,

Puerto Rican, South or Central

American, or other Spanish culture

or origin, regardless of race.” In

data collection and presentation,

federal agencies use two ethnicities:

“Hispanic or Latino” and “Not

Hispanic or Latino.” Race and ethnicity are considered two separate

and distinct concepts by the federal

system. Hispanics may be of any

race, and Blacks can be Hispanic or

not Hispanic.

According to Census 2000, the

overwhelming majority of the Black

population was non-Hispanic: 

98 percent of those who reported

only Black and 97 percent of those

who reported Black and at least one

other race (see Table 4). However,

only 82 percent of all respondents

who reported Black in combination

with one or more other races were

non-Hispanic.

The Black non-Hispanic population

represented 12.4 percent of people

who reported exactly one race and

about 12.6 percent of the total population. Of the 6.8 million people

who reported two or more races, 

21 percent were non-Hispanics who

included Black as one of the races

reported.

8 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 4.

Black or African American Population by Hispanic or Latino Origin:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Race and Hispanic

or Latino origin

Alone In combination with one or

more other races

Alone or in combination

with one or more other races

Number

Percent

of total

Percent of

Black or

African

American

population Number

Percent

of total

Percent of

Black or

African

American

population Number

Percent

of total

Percent of

Black or

African

American

population

Total population . . 274,595,678 100.0 (X) 6,826,228 100.0 (X) 281,421,906 100.0 (X)

Black or African

American . . . . . . . . . 34,658,190 12.6 100.0 1,761,244 25.8 100.0 36,419,434 12.9 100.0

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . 710,353 0.3 2.0 325,330 4.8 18.5 1,035,683 0.4 2.8

Not Hispanic or Latino . 33,947,837 12.4 98.0 1,435,914 21.0 81.5 35,383,751 12.6 97.2

X Not applicable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1 and PL2.

Table 5.

Most Frequent Combinations of Black or African American With One or More Other Races

by Hispanic or Latino Origin:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Black or African American in combination

Total Hispanic or Latino Not Hispanic or Latino

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total number reporting Black or African

American and one or more other races . . . . . . 1,761,244 100.0 325,330 100.0 1,435,914 100.0

Black or African American; White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784,764 44.6 87,687 27.0 697,077 48.5

Black or African American; Some other race . . . . . . 417,249 23.7 161,283 49.6 255,966 17.8

Black or African American; American Indian and

Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182,494 10.4 14,472 4.4 168,022 11.7

Black or African American; White; American Indian

and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,207 6.4 18,046 5.5 94,161 6.6

Black or African American; Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,782 6.1 7,269 2.2 99,513 6.9

Black or African American; White; Some other race . 43,172 2.5 15,481 4.8 27,691 1.9

All other combinations including Black or African

American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114,576 6.5 21,092 6.5 93,484 6.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1 and PL2.
Which other races were 

Black non-Hispanics most

likely to report? 

Among Black non-Hispanics who

reported more than one race, most

indicated they were “Black or

African American and White” 

(49 percent), followed by “Black or

African American and Some other

race” (18 percent), “Black or African

American and American Indian and

Alaska Native” (12 percent), and

“Black or African American and

Asian” (7 percent) as shown in 

Table 5. These four combination

categories accounted for about 

85 percent of all Black nonHispanics who reported two or

more races.

Which other races were 

Black Hispanics most likely 

to report?

Among Black Hispanics who reported more than one race, one-half

indicated they were “Black or

African American and Some other

race,” followed by “Black or African

American and White” (27 percent),

“Black or African American and

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Figure 5.

Percent Under Age 18 of People Who Reported Black 

or African American by Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File,

Tables PL3 and PL4.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and 

definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

54.5

51.5

55.2

31.4

38.8

31.3

Not Hispanic or

Latino, under 18

Hispanic or Latino,

under 18

Total, under 18

Black or African American alone

Black or African American in combination with one or more other races

Table 6.

People Who Reported Black or African American by Age and Hispanic or

Latino Origin:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Age and Hispanic or Latino origin

Black or African American

alone or in combination with

one or more races

Black or African American

alone

Black or African American

in combination with one

or more races

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,419,434 100.0 34,658,190 95.2 1,761,244 4.8

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,035,683 100.0 710,353 68.6 325,330 31.4

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,383,751 100.0 33,947,837 95.9 1,435,914 4.1

Under 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,845,257 100.0 10,885,696 91.9 959,561 8.1

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442,970 100.0 275,432 62.2 167,538 37.8

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,402,287 100.0 10,610,264 93.1 792,023 6.9

18 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,574,177 100.0 23,772,494 96.7 801,683 3.3

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592,713 100.0 434,921 73.4 157,792 26.6

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,981,464 100.0 23,337,573 97.3 643,891 2.7

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1, PL2, PL3, and PL4.
White and American Indian and

Alaska Native” (6 percent), and

“Black or African American and

White and Some other race” (5 percent) as shown in Table 5.

Which group was more 

likely to report more than one

race, Black non-Hispanics or

Black Hispanics?

Black Hispanics were more likely

than Black non-Hispanics to report

two or more races. According to

Census 2000, 1.0 million people

reported Black and Hispanic. Of

those, 31 percent reported Black

with one or more other races (see

Table 6). In contrast, of the 

35.4 million Blacks who reported

as not Hispanic, only 4.1 percent

reported at least one other race. 

Were there differences in 

the age distribution between

people who reported only

Black or African American and

people who reported Black or

African American and one or

more other races?

People who reported Black as well

as one or more other races were

more likely to be under 18 than

those reporting only Black (see

Figure 5). Of the 1.8 million people

who reported Black with at least

one other race, 54 percent were

under 18. This proportion is higher

than the Black alone population. Of

the 34.7 million people who reported only Black, 31 percent were

under 18.

When the Black population is crosstabulated by Hispanic origin, this

pattern persists. For both Black

non-Hispanics and Black Hispanics,

a higher proportion of those reporting more than one race was under

18 when compared with those

reporting Black alone. Among the

1.4 million Black non-Hispanics who

reported more than one race, 

55 percent were under 18. Of the

33.9 million people who reported

Black alone and not Hispanic, 

31 percent were under 18.

Similarly, among the 325,000 Black

Hispanics who reported two or

more races, 51 percent were under

18. Of the 710,000 Black Hispanics

who reported one race, 39 percent

were under 18.

ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Why did Census 2000 ask the

question on race?

The Census Bureau collects data on

race to fulfill a variety of legislative

and program requirements. Data

on race are used in the legislative

redistricting process carried out by

the States and in monitoring local

jurisdictions’ compliance with the

Voting Rights Act. These data are

also essential for evaluating

Federal programs that promote

equal access to employment, education, and housing and for assessing racial disparities in health and

exposure to environmental risks.

More broadly, data on race are critical for research that underlies

many policy decisions at all levels

of government.

How do data from the

question on race benefit me,

my family, and my

community?

All levels of government need information on race to implement and

evaluate programs, or enforce laws.

Examples include: the Native

American Programs Act, the Equal

Employment Opportunity Act, the

Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights

Act, the Public Health Act, the

Healthcare Improvement Act, the

Job Partnership Training Act, the

Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the

Fair Housing Act, and the Census

Redistricting Data Program.

Both public and private organizations use race information to find

areas where groups may need special services and to plan and

implement education, housing,

health, and other programs that

address these needs. For example,

a school system might use this

information to design cultural

activities that reflect the diversity

in their community. Or a business

could use it to select the mix of

merchandise it will sell in a new

store. Census information also

helps identify areas where residents might need services of particular importance to certain racial

or ethnic groups, such as screening for hypertension or diabetes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on race in the

United States, visit the U.S. Census

Bureau’s Internet site at 

www.census.gov/population/

www.socdemo/race.html. 

Race data from the Census 2000

Redistricting Data (Public Law 

94-171) Summary File were

released on a state-by-state basis

during March 2001. The Census

2000 Redistricting data are available on the Internet via

factfinder.census.gov and for purchase on CD-ROM and later on DVD. 

For information on confidentiality

protection, nonsampling error, and

definitions, also see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/

doc/pl94-171.pdf or contact our

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636).

For more information on specific

races in the United States, go to

www.census.gov and click on

“Minority Links.” This Web page

includes information about Census

2000 and provides links to reports

based on past censuses and surveys focusing on the social and economic characteristics of the Black or

African American, American Indian

and Alaska Native, Asian, and

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific

Islander populations.

10 U.S. Census Bureau
Information on other population

and housing topics is presented in

the Census 2000 Brief series,

located on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 

Web site at www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000/briefs.html.

This series presents information

about race, Hispanic origin, age,

sex, household type, housing

tenure, and other social, economic,

and housing characteristics.

For more information about Census

2000, including data products, call

our Customer Services Center at

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail 

webmaster@census.gov.

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