The Census Bureau estimates that in 2007, the United States had an African American population of 38,756,452. The total US population was estimated at 301,621,157. African Americans are 12.8% of the US population.
Blacks are the nation’s second largest minority. Hispanics are the largest minority. They number 45,504,311, and are 15.1% of the US population.
The count of African Americans (38,756,452) only includes those who identify themselves as African American. The Census Bureau now allows persons to be identified as multiracial. The Census Bureau estimates that there are 1,987,680 persons who are multiracial and have some African American heritage.
When multiracial persons are included, the count of African Americans comes to 40,744,132, which is 13.5% of the population.
85% of African Americans (not including multiracial persons) reside in just 18 states, all of which have at least a million black residents:
Almost 9% of all African Americans reside in New York state. Half of all African Americans reside in eight states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, North Carolina, Illinois, and Maryland.
The black reverse migration phenomenon we hear about is not so much a move from the north to the south, but rather a move to Florida, Georgia, and Texas from just about everywhere else, at least in this decade. Those three states have a higher share of the black population than they had in 2000.
Illinois, Michigan and Louisiana (thanks to Hurricane Katrina) have lost the most “black share,” but several southern states (Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina) have lost share as well.
35 of the 41 black members in the House of Representatives come from the 18 sates with a million African American residents (note, this doesn’t include the delegates from the District of Columbia and Virgin Islands):
New York: 4 African American Congressmen
North Carolina: 2
South Carolina: 1
New Jersey: 1