CB03-FF.01 January 16, 2003
African-American History Month:
February 2003
36.4 million
The number of U.S. residents who say they are African-American or African-American in combination with one or more other races. This group makes up 12.9 percent of the total population. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>Population Distribution
Nation
Census 2000 was the first census in which respondents had the option of choosing more than one race to describe their racial identity. The population who chose African-American alone showed an increase of 4.7 million, or 15.6 percent, since 1990. However, if the population who chose African-American and at least one other race is included, the result is an increase of 6.4 million, or 21.5 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>
54
The percent of the African-American population who live in the South. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>States
17
The number of states with 1 million or more African-American residents. Ten (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia) are in the South. The remaining seven are California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Combined, they account for more than 80 percent of the nation's African-Americans. New York has the largest African-American population (3.2 million), with California, Texas, Florida and Georgia also exceeding 2 million. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>37
The percent of Mississippi's population who say they are African-American. Louisiana (33 percent), South Carolina (30 percent), Georgia and Maryland (29 percent each) and Alabama (26 percent) followed. The District of Columbia, a state equivalent, has the highest proportion of African-Americans: 61 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>Cities
2.3 million
The number of people in New York city who say they are African-American. New York leads all the nation's cities in this category. Chicago is second, with 1.1 million, followed by Detroit; Philadelphia; Houston; Los Angeles; Baltimore; Memphis, Tenn.; Washington, D.C.; and New Orleans. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>85
Percentage of Gary, Ind., residents who say they are African-American. Among cities with 100,000 or more residents, Gary edges out Detroit (83 percent) in this category. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn176.html>Ages
29.5
The median age of the African-American population, meaning one-half are above it and one-half, below. The median age for the total U.S. population is 35.3 years. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>Children and Families
8.4 million
Number of African-American families. Of these:
- 3.9 million, or 46 percent, consist of married couples.
- 4.8 million, or 56 percent, include own children under 18.
- 2.0 million, or 24 percent, are married couples with their own children under 18. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
11.8 million
Number of African-American children under 18. Among these children, 41 percent live in a home maintained by their mother, 34 percent in a home maintained by both of their parents and 13 percent in a grandparent's home. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>Income and Poverty
$29,470
The annual median income of African-American households, which is just under the all-time high reached in 2000 ($30,495 in 2001 dollars). <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>$14,953
Annual per capita income for African-Americans, unchanged from 2000, after adjusting for inflation.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>22.7
Poverty rate for African-Americans, which remains at the all-time low achieved in 2000 and 1999. The number of African-Americans who are poor, 8.1 million, is not significantly different from the number of poor in 2000. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>Businesses
823,500
Number of African-American-owned businesses in the United States. These businesses employ 718,300 people and generate $71.2 billion in revenues. They make up 4 percent of the nation's 20.8 million nonfarm businesses and 27 percent of its 3.0 million minority-owned firms.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-54.html>
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-115.html>38
Percentage of the nation's African-American-owned firms whose owners are women, a higher percentage of female owners than any other minority race or ethnic group. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-115.html>$86,500
Average receipts of an African-American-owned firm. A small subset of African-American-owned firms -- 8,700 -- has annual sales of $1 million or more each. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-54.html>Housing
5.7 million
Number of African-American householders who own their own home, representing 46 percent of all African-American householders. In 1990, the corresponding figures were 4.3 million and 43 percent. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>Education
72
Among African-Americans age 25 and over, the percentage who have at least a high school diploma. This continues the steady climb in educational attainment for African-Americans in recent decades: the 1990 census showed that 63 percent of this age group had this level of education; in the 1980 census, it was 51 percent. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet> <http://www.census.gov/apsd/wepeople/we-1.pdf>14
Among African-Americans age 25 and over, the percentage who have a bachelor's degree or higher. That proportion has risen since the 1990 census, when 11 percent of African-Americans age 25 and over had a bachelor's degree or higher. And the current percentage has almost doubled since the 1980 census, when the figure was 8 percent. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet> <http://www.census.gov/apsd/wepeople/we-1.pdf>954,000
Among African-Americans age 25 and over, the number who have a graduate or professional degree. This number represented 5 percent of all people age 25 and over reporting this race only. In contrast, the 1990 census showed that 644,000, or 4 percent, of African-Americans age 25 and over had this level of education. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>$2.5 million
Estimated work-life earnings for full-time, year-round, African-American workers with an advanced degree. For African-Americans, more education means higher career earnings: those without a high school diploma would earn less than $1 million during their work life, increasing to $1.0 million for workers with a high school education and $1.7 million for those with a bachelor's degree. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-95.html>Serving Our Nation
2.6 million
Number of African-American military veterans. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>Voting
57
The percentage of African-American citizens 18 years old or over who cast a ballot in the last presidential election, an increase of 4 percentage points from 1996. By comparison, the voting rate for all citizens increased just 2 percentage points, from 58 percent to 60 percent.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-31.html>
Editor's note: The data presented are the latest available from the Census Bureau. Some of the statements pertain to those who reported African-American alone, as well as those who reported African-American and at least one other race. Some of the preceding data were collected in surveys and are therefore subject to sampling error. Observances typically covered by the Census Bureau's Facts for Features series include African-American History Month, Women's History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Mother's Day, the Fourth of July, Hispanic Heritage Month, American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month, Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season. For a complete list, see <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/factsheets.html>. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office: telephone: (301) 763-3030; fax: (301) 457-3670; or e-mail: <pio@census.gov>.
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