The “Blackish” city in North Carolina for 2021

By Cash Michaels

Which city in North Carolina had the Blackest population for 2021? And where did your city rank in the Top Ten? The Top Twenty? Even the Top One Hundred?

RoadSnacks is a subsidiary of the Raleigh-based real estate research group, HomeSnacks, which has been developing national and North Carolina lists of the cheapest places, best places to live, best small towns, fastest growing cities, most expensive cities, and other quality of life rankings for many years.

Based on the latest U.S. Census data available (specifically the 2015 - 2019 American Community Survey Data), there are 42 million people in the United States who identify as either Black or African American, comprising 12% of the total population.

Per North Carolina, 21.1% of its total population is Black or African American.

Based on its research, RoadSnacks reports that Wadesboro - population 5, 305- had the highest percentage of citizens identifying as African American in the state of North Carolina for 2021, at 72.05%.

Henderson - population 14, 948 - had the second largest percentage of Black citizens at 66.66%.

Kinston - population 20,398 - came in third with 65.86% Black or African American.

Fourth for 2021 was Rocky Mount, which had a total population of 54,548 residents, 63.5% of whom were African American.

Oxford was fifth, with a population of just 8,721, 62.23% of whom were Black in 2021.

Sixth for 2021 was Williamston, which had 56.33% of its total population as Black.

Tarboro was seventh on the list of most Black populated cities in North Carolina with 54.74% of 10,915 total population.

Goldsboro came in eighth on the Blackest city in North Carolina list with 52.26% of a total population of 34,647.

Elizabeth City ranks ninth with 50.12% of a total population of 17,629 that are Black.

And rounding out the top ten Blackest cities in North Carolina for 2021, Laurinburg at 48.92% of 15,119.

For the record, based on this research by RoadSnack, Oak Island had the least number of African American citizens in North Carolina, followed by Carolina Beach, and Kill Devil Hills.

Following the same rankings, from number 11 through twenty, Wilson had 48.2%; Nashville (47.12); Hamlet (46.0%); Selma (44.86%); Roxboro (44.48%); Knightdale (43.97%); Fayetteville (41.01%); Greensboro (41.01%); Dunn (40.83%); and Whiteville 40.7%).

Interesting Black populations of note across the state - Durham (38.02%); Statesville (35.43%); High Point (35.29%); Salisbury (35.03%); Charlotte (34.62%); Raleigh (28.23%); Wilmington (17.99%); Asheville (11.23%).

North Carolina comes in eighth of the top ten states in the nation with the largest Black population (Mississippi was the first).

The Blackest city in the nation - Jackson, Mississippi.