Most African American cities in Arkansas research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Arkansas’s most recent Census data to determine the cities with the largest Black population, based on the percentage of Black residents.
The city with the largest African American population in Arkansas is Pine Bluff (76.2% Black); the least is Mena (0.1%). Statewide, Arkansas is 14.6% Black — the 11th blackest state in the country.
Roughly 42 million people identifying as Black or African American live in the United States, about 12% of the total population. In Arkansas, the Black population is 446,603, at 14.6% of the state total.
We broke down the most recent Census data to determine the cities in Arkansas with the largest African American population in 2026.
#1 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Jefferson County, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the tenth-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 49,083 in the 2010 Census with 2016 estmates showing a decline to 43,841.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most African American in Arkansas
Forrest City is a city in St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States, and the county seat. It was named for General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who used the location as a campsite for a construction crew completing a railroad between Memphis and Little Rock, shortly after the Civil War. The population was 15,371 at the 2010 census, an increase from 14,774 in 2000. The city refers to itself as the “Jewel of the Delta”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Phillips County, Arkansas
Helena-West Helena is the county seat of and the largest city within Phillips County, Arkansas, United States. The current city was consolidated, effective January 1, 2006, from the two Arkansas cities of Helena and West Helena. Helena is sited on lowlands between the Mississippi River and the eastern side of Crowley’s Ridge. West Helena is located on the western side of Crowley’s Ridge, a geographic anomaly in the typically flat Arkansas Delta. The Helena Bridge, one of Arkansas’ four Mississippi River bridges, carries U.S. Route 49 across to Mississippi. The combined population of the two cities was 15,012 at the 2000 census and at the 2010 census, the official population was 12,282.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Crittenden County, Arkansas
West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 26,245 at the 2010 census, ranking it as the state’s 18th largest city, behind Bella Vista. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, and is located directly across the Mississippi River from Memphis.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Mississippi County, Arkansas
Blytheville is the largest city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. Blytheville is approximately 60 miles north of West Memphis. The population was 18,272 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Mississippi County, Arkansas
Osceola is a city in and one of the two county seats of Mississippi County, Arkansas, United States. Located along the Mississippi River within the Arkansas delta, the settlement was founded in 1837 and incorporated in 1853. Occupying an important location on the river, the city’s economy grew as steamboat traffic increased. Timber and cotton harvesting would develop, and the city experienced rapid growth and development throughout the early 20th century. The city’s economy has since diversified to include a robust industrial sector. The population was 7,757 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Ouachita County, Arkansas
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Union County, Arkansas
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Pulaski County, Arkansas
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most African American in Arkansas
Located in
Hempstead County, Arkansas
Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and Nevada counties. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,095, and in 2015 the population was estimated at 9,891.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Arkansas’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Arkansas’s Black communities live
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Arkansas With The Largest Black Population For 2026
We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across Arkansas.
That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2020-2024 American Community Survey data from the US Census.
Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- White alone*
- Black or African American alone*
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
- Asian alone*
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
- Some other race alone*
- Two or more races*
Our particular column of interest was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.
We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people in Arkansas. That left us with 59 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 76.2% to 0.1%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Pine Bluff took the distinction of being the most Black, while Mena was the least African American city.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Arkansas with the largest African American population.
The full plate
African American Population By City In Arkansas
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | African American Population | % African American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pine Bluff | 39,743 | 30,285 | 76.2% |
| 2 | Forrest City | 12,646 | 9,249 | 73.1% |
| 3 | Helena-West Helena | 8,935 | 6,420 | 71.9% |
| 4 | West Memphis | 23,929 | 15,117 | 63.2% |
| 5 | Blytheville | 12,790 | 7,467 | 58.4% |
| 6 | Osceola | 6,688 | 3,733 | 55.8% |
| 7 | Camden | 10,307 | 5,688 | 55.2% |
| 8 | El Dorado | 17,115 | 8,340 | 48.7% |
| 9 | Jacksonville | 29,221 | 14,129 | 48.4% |
| 10 | Hope | 8,671 | 3,819 | 44.0% |
| 11 | North Little Rock | 64,538 | 28,409 | 44.0% |
| 12 | Warren | 5,353 | 2,338 | 43.7% |
| 13 | Stuttgart | 7,903 | 3,337 | 42.2% |
| 14 | Magnolia | 10,894 | 4,588 | 42.1% |
| 15 | Monticello | 8,257 | 3,384 | 41.0% |
| 16 | Little Rock | 203,436 | 80,682 | 39.7% |
| 17 | Marion | 13,623 | 5,267 | 38.7% |
| 18 | Texarkana | 29,177 | 10,177 | 34.9% |
| 19 | White Hall | 5,512 | 1,686 | 30.6% |
| 20 | Arkadelphia | 10,099 | 3,057 | 30.3% |
| 21 | Malvern | 10,953 | 3,311 | 30.2% |
| 22 | Sherwood | 33,070 | 9,718 | 29.4% |
| 23 | Wynne | 8,120 | 2,103 | 25.9% |
| 24 | Newport | 8,024 | 1,994 | 24.9% |
| 25 | Jonesboro | 80,137 | 18,170 | 22.7% |
| 26 | Maumelle | 19,373 | 3,874 | 20.0% |
| 27 | Conway | 67,642 | 11,880 | 17.6% |
| 28 | Hot Springs | 37,920 | 5,905 | 15.6% |
| 29 | Bryant | 21,504 | 3,206 | 14.9% |
| 30 | Morrilton | 7,080 | 905 | 12.8% |
| 31 | Searcy | 23,340 | 2,515 | 10.8% |
| 32 | Benton | 36,595 | 3,638 | 9.9% |
| 33 | Trumann | 7,410 | 606 | 8.2% |
| 34 | Fort Smith | 89,805 | 6,285 | 7.0% |
| 35 | Centerton | 21,920 | 1,254 | 5.7% |
| 36 | De Queen | 6,058 | 328 | 5.4% |
| 37 | Fayetteville | 99,319 | 4,807 | 4.8% |
| 38 | Russellville | 29,162 | 1,172 | 4.0% |
| 39 | Paragould | 30,215 | 1,037 | 3.4% |
| 40 | Clarksville | 9,526 | 326 | 3.4% |
| 41 | Farmington | 9,094 | 311 | 3.4% |
| 42 | Alma | 5,906 | 200 | 3.4% |
| 43 | Bentonville | 58,249 | 1,952 | 3.4% |
| 44 | Cabot | 26,960 | 844 | 3.1% |
| 45 | Batesville | 11,445 | 334 | 2.9% |
| 46 | Springdale | 88,160 | 1,873 | 2.1% |
| 47 | Van Buren | 23,763 | 482 | 2.0% |
| 48 | Pocahontas | 7,538 | 133 | 1.8% |
| 49 | Siloam Springs | 18,699 | 298 | 1.6% |
| 50 | Lowell | 10,849 | 149 | 1.4% |
| 51 | Rogers | 72,981 | 729 | 1.0% |
| 52 | Beebe | 8,707 | 65 | 0.7% |
| 53 | Heber Springs | 7,161 | 53 | 0.7% |
| 54 | Mountain Home | 13,108 | 96 | 0.7% |
| 55 | Greenwood | 9,616 | 46 | 0.5% |
| 56 | Berryville | 5,707 | 26 | 0.5% |
| 57 | Cherokee Village | 5,046 | 13 | 0.3% |
| 58 | Harrison | 13,350 | 34 | 0.3% |
| 59 | Mena | 5,582 | 6 | 0.1% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 59 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Black Populations Across Arkansas
If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Arkansas according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.
The blackest cities in Arkansas are Pine Bluff, Forrest City, Helena-West Helena, West Memphis, Blytheville, Osceola, Camden, El Dorado, Jacksonville, and Hope.
