Indiana Cities With The Largest Black Population [2026]

Most African American cities in Indiana research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Indiana’s most recent Census data to determine the blackest cities in Indiana based on the percentage of Black residents. Here are the results of our analysis:

The city with the largest African American population in Indiana is Gary based on the most recent Census data.
Gary is 75.73% Black.
The least African American city in Indiana is New Whiteland.
New Whiteland is 0.0% Black.
Indiana is 9.1% Black.
Indiana is the 22nd blackest state in the United States.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The Black community is one of the fastest-growing communities in America this decade.

Roughly 42 million people identifying as Black or African American live in the United States, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in Indiana is 622,085 – at 9.1% of the total population of Indiana.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census’s race and ethnicity definition. Most scholars and historians agree that increasing diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase in the black population impacted Indiana? Which cities and towns in Indiana have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Indiana with the largest African American population in 2026:

Most African American Places In Indiana

What’s the blackest city in Indiana? The city with the largest Black population in Indiana for 2026 is Gary. See if Gary ranked as one of the most african american places in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in Indiana or the most diverse places in Indiana.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Indiana For 2026

1. Gary

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Light (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 68,113
% African American: 75.73%
# Of African American Residents: 51,585
Percent Change Since 2010: -25.62%
More on Gary: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Merrillville

Source: Wikipedia User Dennisyerger84 | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 36,476
% African American: 46.09%
# Of African American Residents: 16,811
Percent Change Since 2010: 18.0%
More on Merrillville: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. East Chicago

Source: Wikipedia User Dennisyerger84 | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 26,022
% African American: 36.07%
# Of African American Residents: 9,386
Percent Change Since 2010: -27.48%
More on East Chicago: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Speedway

Source: Wikipedia User NaBUru38 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 13,968
% African American: 32.54%
# Of African American Residents: 4,545
Percent Change Since 2010: 147.15%
More on Speedway: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Lawrence

Source: Wikipedia User NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from Greenbelt, MD, USA | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 49,517
% African American: 28.43%
# Of African American Residents: 14,076
Percent Change Since 2010: 31.55%
More on Lawrence: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Indianapolis

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 885,860
% African American: 27.56%
# Of African American Residents: 244,161
Percent Change Since 2010: 11.96%
More on Indianapolis: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Westville

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Light at en.wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 5,279
% African American: 25.33%
# Of African American Residents: 1,337
Percent Change Since 2010: -7.73%
More on Westville: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Michigan City

Source: Wikipedia User Drew Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of California | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 31,814
% African American: 23.83%
# Of African American Residents: 7,580
Percent Change Since 2010: -13.85%
More on Michigan City: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Hammond

Source: Wikipedia User HammondMan | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 76,768
% African American: 22.53%
# Of African American Residents: 17,292
Percent Change Since 2010: 9.44%
More on Hammond: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. South Bend

Source: Wikipedia User Khoa Huynh | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 103,085
% African American: 22.45%
# Of African American Residents: 23,141
Percent Change Since 2010: -9.64%
More on South Bend: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Indiana 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 Indiana.

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*

* Not Hispanic or latino

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 Indiana. That left us with 112 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 75.7% to 0.0%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Gary took the distinction of being the most Black, while New Whiteland was the least African American city.

We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Indiana with the largest African American population.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Indiana ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: Black Populations Across Indiana

If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Indiana according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

The blackest cities in Indiana are Gary, Merrillville, East Chicago, Speedway, Lawrence, Indianapolis, Westville, Michigan City, Hammond, and South Bend.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least African American places in Indiana:

New Whiteland
Garrett
Auburn

For more Indiana reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Indiana

Rank	City	Population	African American Population	% African American
1	Gary	68,113	51,585	75.73%
2	Merrillville	36,476	16,811	46.09%
3	East Chicago	26,022	9,386	36.07%
4	Speedway	13,968	4,545	32.54%
5	Lawrence	49,517	14,076	28.43%
6	Indianapolis	885,860	244,161	27.56%
7	Westville	5,279	1,337	25.33%
8	Michigan City	31,814	7,580	23.83%
9	Hammond	76,768	17,292	22.53%
10	South Bend	103,085	23,141	22.45%
11	Griffith	16,273	2,364	14.53%
12	Hobart	29,558	4,235	14.33%
13	Fort Wayne	268,589	37,558	13.98%
14	Avon	23,437	3,228	13.77%
15	Brownsburg	31,215	3,883	12.44%
16	Elkhart	53,733	6,670	12.41%
17	Jeffersonville	51,043	6,103	11.96%
18	Evansville	116,116	13,643	11.75%
19	Plainfield	36,369	4,256	11.7%
20	Anderson	55,367	6,436	11.62%
21	Mishawaka	51,021	5,471	10.72%
22	Cumberland	6,267	656	10.47%
23	Lafayette	71,159	7,356	10.34%
24	Kokomo	59,122	5,868	9.93%
25	Marion	27,531	2,691	9.77%
26	Portage	38,082	3,546	9.31%
27	Clarksville	22,016	1,925	8.74%
28	Terre Haute	58,427	5,076	8.69%
29	Highland	23,680	2,050	8.66%
30	Muncie	64,751	5,217	8.06%
31	Crown Point	34,393	2,728	7.93%
32	New Albany	37,581	2,884	7.67%
33	Schererville	29,701	2,278	7.67%
34	Munster	23,733	1,754	7.39%
35	Beech Grove	14,913	1,089	7.3%
36	Richmond	35,581	2,203	6.19%
37	Greenwood	66,029	3,704	5.61%
38	Greencastle	9,864	504	5.11%
39	Noblesville	73,362	3,697	5.04%
40	Princeton	8,372	412	4.92%
41	Bloomington	80,049	3,939	4.92%
42	Zionsville	32,095	1,518	4.73%
43	New Haven	15,698	660	4.2%
44	La Porte	22,449	897	4.0%
45	Washington	12,367	447	3.61%
46	New Castle	17,367	607	3.5%
47	Vincennes	16,586	577	3.48%
48	West Lafayette	45,159	1,567	3.47%
49	Valparaiso	34,733	1,148	3.31%
50	Charlestown	8,294	270	3.26%
51	Carmel	101,651	3,087	3.04%
52	Peru	10,901	320	2.94%
53	Franklin	26,168	717	2.74%
54	Lake Station	13,185	336	2.55%
55	Shelbyville	20,296	515	2.54%
56	Tipton	5,280	132	2.5%
57	Columbus	51,824	1,295	2.5%
58	Nappanee	6,815	169	2.48%
59	Dyer	16,400	391	2.38%
60	Goshen	34,420	798	2.32%
61	Rensselaer	5,573	129	2.31%
62	St. John	22,567	520	2.3%
63	Madison	12,223	266	2.18%
64	Greenfield	24,940	530	2.13%
65	Logansport	17,790	333	1.87%
66	Alexandria	5,155	96	1.86%
67	Bluffton	10,529	194	1.84%
68	Mooresville	9,751	178	1.83%
69	Crawfordsville	16,491	292	1.77%
70	Rushville	6,036	106	1.76%
71	Angola	9,408	165	1.75%
72	Warsaw	16,768	292	1.74%
73	Chesterton	14,446	242	1.68%
74	Huntington	17,030	239	1.4%
75	Tell City	7,505	98	1.31%
76	Yor	11,699	139	1.19%
77	Connersville	13,109	142	1.08%
78	Rochester	6,215	67	1.08%
79	Seymour	22,371	239	1.07%
80	Jasper	15,991	154	0.96%
81	Ellettsville	6,698	64	0.96%
82	North Vernon	7,078	66	0.93%
83	Scottsburg	7,362	67	0.91%
84	Frankfort	15,917	134	0.84%
85	Mount Vernon	6,400	52	0.81%
86	Gas City	6,076	47	0.77%
87	Batesville	7,282	56	0.77%
88	Brazil	7,831	60	0.77%
89	Hartford City	5,794	43	0.74%
90	Plymouth	10,664	78	0.73%
91	Elwood	8,356	61	0.73%
92	Decatur	9,811	68	0.69%
93	Lebanon	17,812	113	0.63%
94	Sellersburg	10,137	63	0.62%
95	Portland	6,416	39	0.61%
96	Bedford	13,837	83	0.6%
97	Danville	11,714	61	0.52%
98	Huntingburg	6,396	30	0.47%
99	Greensburg	12,229	57	0.47%
100	Martinsville	11,933	50	0.42%

The 10 Indiana Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2026

The most African American cities in Indiana are Gary and Merrillville for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most African American Places In Indiana

The 10 Blackest Cities In Indiana For 2026

1. Gary

2. Merrillville

3. East Chicago

4. Speedway

5. Lawrence

6. Indianapolis

7. Westville

8. Michigan City

9. Hammond

10. South Bend

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Indiana With The Largest Black Population For 2026

Summary: Black Populations Across Indiana

African American Population By City In Indiana