Facts About the U.S. Black Population

January 24, 2025

By Gracie Martinez and Jeffrey S. Passel
The Black population of the United States is growing. In 2023, an estimated 48.3 million people self-identified as Black, making up 14.4% of the country’s population. This marks a 33% increase since 2000, when there were 36.2 million Black people living in the U.S.

The Black American population is diverse. This group consists of people with varied racial and ethnic identities and experiences. It includes those who say their race is Black, either alone or in combination with other racial backgrounds. It also includes Hispanics who say their race is Black (though this group is not necessarily the same as the Afro-Latino population).

This fact sheet is a profile of the demographic, geographic and economic characteristics of the U.S. Black population in 2023, presented through the lens of four different groups:

  • The total U.S. Black population
  • Single-race, non-Hispanic Black people
  • Multiracial, non-Hispanic Black people
  • Black Hispanic people

Population growth

An estimated 48.3 million people in the U.S. identified as Black in 2023. The Black population has grown by more than 12 million since 2000, up from 36.2 million – a 33% increase over roughly two decades.In 2023, more than 5 million Black Americans were foreign born, about 11% of the U.S. Black population. (Read the cautionary note in “How we did this” about data on immigrants.) This is an increase from 2000, when 2.4 million people, or 7%, among the Black population were foreign born.
A line graph showing U.S. Black population has grown by 33% between 2000 and 2023

Age structure

The U.S. Black population is young. The median age of Black people in 2023 was 32.6 years, about six years younger than the U.S. population’s median age of 38.2. Roughly 30% of the entire Black population was below the age of 20, while 12% were 65 or older.

More than four-in-ten Black Americans (44%) were younger than 30 in 2023. A similar share (43%) were between 30 and 64 years old.

About a quarter of Black Americans are under 18 years old (27%).

A bar chart showing that Nearly half of Black Americans are under 30 years old

Fertility in the past year

The general fertility rate among Black females ages 15 to 44 was 5.8% in 2023, meaning that 5.8% of females in this age group had a birth in the previous 12 months.

Languages

The vast majority (96%) of the Black population as of 2023 either speaks only English (88%) or speaks another language at home and say they speak English very well (8%). Besides English, other languages spoken at home by the U.S. Black population include Spanish (4%), French or Haitian Creole (3%),* Niger-Congo languages (1%), and Amharic and other Ethiopian languages (1%). (Language use is among ages 5 and older.)

* “French or Haitian Creole” combines those whose language was recorded by the American Community Survey as either “French” or “French or Haitian Creole.

Geography

More than half of the U.S. Black population (56%) lives in the South as of 2023. Another 17% each live in the Midwest and Northeast, and 10% live in the West.Texas is home to the largest Black population of any state, at about 4.3 million. Florida comes in a close second with 4.0 million, and Georgia comes in third with 3.7 million.
A map showing that Majority of the U.S. Black population lives in the South

The New York City metropolitan area has the greatest number of Black residents (3.8 million). The second-largest Black metro area population is Atlanta with 2.3 million. The Washington, D.C., metro area is third-largest with 1.8 million Black residents.

A table showing The New York City metropolitan area has the largest Black population

Household income

Median household income in 2023 for households headed by a Black person was $54,000, meaning half of Black households earned more than that and half earned less than that. Over a third of Black households (37%) earned $75,000 or more, including 25% that made $100,000 or more.
A bar chart showing that Nearly 4 in 10 Black U.S. households earned $75,000 or more in 2023

Household type

About four-in-ten Black people in the U.S. (39%) live in households that are headed by married couples as of 2023. Three-in-ten Black people live in households whose household head is female, and 5% live in male-headed households. Fewer than two-in-ten (17%) are part of nonfamily households.*

* Nonfamily households include households where the householder lives alone or shares their home with only nonrelatives.

A bar chart showing that About 4 in 10 U.S. Black people live in households headed by married couples

Educational attainment

About a quarter (27%) of all Black U.S. adults ages 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more education: 16% earned a bachelor’s degree and 11% earned an advanced degree. As of 2023, about another third (32%) have completed some college without obtaining a bachelor’s degree, and 30% have, at most, graduated from high school (or earned an equivalent such as a GED certificate).
A bar chart showing that About a quarter of U.S. Black adults have a bachelor's degree or higher

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