2025

Counties in Maryland ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 22 counties in Maryland based on their Black or African American population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Black population in Maryland

View All
  • 1
    Prince Georges County
    Black population in Prince Georges County is 603,437
    58.61% of Prince Georges County population is Black
  • 2
    Baltimore city
    Black population in Baltimore city is 361,265
    59.11% of Baltimore city population is Black
  • 3
    Montgomery County
    Black population in Montgomery County is 224,229
    19.08% of Montgomery County population is Black
  • 4
    Anne Arundel County
    Black population in Anne Arundel County is 123,084
    19.16% of Anne Arundel County population is Black
  • 5
    Charles County
    Black population in Charles County is 92,209
    49.65% of Charles County population is Black

List of 22 counties in Maryland by Black Population

View Methodology
Rank by Black Population
County
Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Maryland Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Prince Georges County 603,437 58.61% 36.64%
2 Baltimore city 361,265 59.11% 21.94%
3 Montgomery County 224,229 19.08% 13.61%
4 Anne Arundel County 123,084 19.16% 7.47%
5 Charles County 92,209 49.65% 5.60%
6 Harford County 44,841 15.98% 2.72%
7 Frederick County 36,933 11.90% 2.24%
8 31,063 27.59% 1.89%
9 23,470 13.93% 1.43%
10 19,660 15.77% 1.19%
11 14,717 14.39% 0.89%
12 10,789 39.74% 0.66%
13 10,321 29.21% 0.63%
14 10,128 9.10% 0.61%
15 9,349 5.12% 0.57%
16 7,625 13.50% 0.46%
17 6,509 9.20% 0.40%
18 5,431 15.16% 0.33%
19 5,092 12.56% 0.31%
20 3,616 6.68% 0.22%
21 2,932 14.69% 0.18%
22 254 0.86% 0.02%

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks counties in Maryland by their Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Black Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Black, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Black alone, while others identify as Black along with another race (such as Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Black .
  • We’ve used the “Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Black alone or in combination in counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Black .
  2. % of Total Maryland Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Black population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Black populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Counties that don’t have any reported Black population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Black populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.