2025

Counties in Massachusetts ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 14 counties in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts

View All
  • 1
    Suffolk County
    Black population in Suffolk County is 206,373
    22.29% of Suffolk County population is Black
  • 2
    Middlesex County
    Black population in Middlesex County is 111,626
    6.30% of Middlesex County population is Black
  • 3
    Norfolk County
    Black population in Norfolk County is 66,761
    8.58% of Norfolk County population is Black
  • 4
    Plymouth County
    Black population in Plymouth County is 66,701
    11.59% of Plymouth County population is Black
  • 5
    Worcester County
    Black population in Worcester County is 64,118
    6.74% of Worcester County population is Black

List of 14 counties in Massachusetts by Black Population

View Methodology
Rank by Black Population
County
Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total Massachusetts Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Suffolk County 206,373 22.29% 29.36%
2 Middlesex County 111,626 6.30% 15.88%
3 Norfolk County 66,761 8.58% 9.50%
4 Plymouth County 66,701 11.59% 9.49%
5 Worcester County 64,118 6.74% 9.12%
6 Hampden County 56,686 10.62% 8.07%
7 Essex County 55,277 6.18% 7.87%
8 46,880 7.37% 6.67%
9 10,017 4.08% 1.43%
10 6,777 4.02% 0.96%
11 6,562 4.80% 0.93%
12 2,131 13.19% 0.30%
13 1,814 2.42% 0.26%
14 1,088 4.76% 0.15%

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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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.