The largest African American growth in pure numbers over the past decade didn’t take place in traditional hubs of Black life such as Atlanta or Houston, but rather in smaller cities with lower profiles.
Columbus is among the smaller cities with the largest African American growth in pure numbers over the past decade.
Between 2010 and 2020, Fort Worth, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina, were the cities with the largest gains in Black residents. Figures from the 2020 census show each city gaining between 32,000 and 40,000 Black residents.
African Americans have been migrating to Atlanta and other big cities in the South for decades. But over the past decade, some have found it easier to get an economic foothold in smaller cities.
