Lincoln Steffens pointed out that Adweek, Draftfcb and the U.S. Census Bureau teamed up to celebrate Black History Month with a story titled, “All About African Americans Today.” Draftfcb and the U.S. Census Bureau, incidentally, share an advertising agency-client relationship—and Adweek is apparently starving for original content—which may explain the publication of what essentially feels like a lazy press release. The celebratory factoids include 18 percent of Blacks holding a bachelor’s degree and a 27.4 percent poverty rate. Oh Happy Day. No mention of the number of Blacks working on Madison Avenue.
All About African Americans Today
Census Bureau releases facts and figures for Black History Month
In celebration of Black History Month, the U.S. Census Bureau has released a series of facts and stats about the African American population aggregated from recent studies.
42 million – The number of people who identified as Black, either alone or in combination with one or more other races, in the 2010 Census. They made up 13.6 percent of the total U.S. population. The Black population grew by 15.4 percent from 2000 to 2010.
65.7 million – The projected Black population of the United States (including those of more than one race) for July 1, 2050. On that date, according to the projection, Blacks would constitute 15 percent of the nation’s total population.
3.3 million – The Black population in New York state, which led all states in 2010. The other nine states in the top 10 were Florida, Texas, Georgia, California, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio.
38 percent – Percent of Mississippi’s total population that was Black in 2010. Mississippi led the nation in this category followed by Louisiana (33 percent), Georgia (32 percent), Maryland (31 percent), South Carolina (29 percent) and Alabama (27 percent).
2.2 million – People who identified as Black in New York City, the city with the largest African American population. It was followed by Chicago; Philadelphia; Detroit; Houston; Memphis, Tenn.; Baltimore; Los Angeles; Washington; and Dallas.
84.3 percent – Percent of the total population in Detroit, who identified as Black, which is the highest percentage nationally.
2.4 million – Number of Black military veterans in the United States in 2010.
82 percent – Among Blacks 25 and older, the percentage with a high school diploma or higher in 2010.
18 percent – Percentage of Blacks 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2010.
1.5 million – Among Blacks 25 and older, the number who had an advanced degree in 2010.
2.9 million – Number of Blacks enrolled in college in 2010, a 1.7 million increase since 1990.
11.1 million – The number of Blacks who voted in the 2010 congressional election, an increase from 11 percent of the total electorate in 2006 to 12 percent in 2010.
55 percent – Turnout rate in the 2008 presidential election for the 18- to 24-year-old citizen Black population, an 8 percentage point increase from 2004. Blacks had the highest turnout rate in this age group.
65 percent – Turnout rate among Black citizens regardless of age in the 2008 presidential election, up about 5 percentage points from 2004. Looking at voter turnout by race and Hispanic origin, non-Hispanic whites and Blacks had the highest turnout levels.
$32,068 – The annual median income of Black households in 2010, a decline of 3.2 percent from 2009.
27.4 percent – Poverty rate in 2010 for Blacks.
62.5 percent – Among households with a Black householder, the percentage that contained a family. There were 9.4 million Black family households.
1.3 million – Number of Black grandparents who lived with their own grandchildren younger than 18. Of this number, 47.6 percent were also responsible for their care.
44.2 percent – Nationally, the percentage of households with a householder who was Black who lived in owner-occupied homes.
