Minnesota Cities With The Largest Black Population [2026]

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

The city with the largest African American population in Minnesota is Waite Park based on the most recent Census data.
Waite Park is 35.52% Black.
The least African American city in Minnesota is New Prague.
New Prague is 0.0% Black.
Minnesota is 6.9% Black.
Minnesota is the 25th 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 Minnesota is 398,881 – at 6.9% of the total population of Minnesota.

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 Minnesota? Which cities and towns in Minnesota have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

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

Most African American Places In Minnesota

What’s the blackest city in Minnesota? The city with the largest Black population in Minnesota for 2026 is Waite Park. See if Waite Park 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 Minnesota or the most diverse places in Minnesota.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Minnesota For 2026

1. Waite Park

Source: Flickr User saltedwound | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,399
% African American: 35.52%
# Of African American Residents: 2,983
Percent Change Since 2010: 793.11%
More on Waite Park: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Brooklyn Center

Source: Wikipedia User AvianEnRoute | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 32,479
% African American: 31.34%
# Of African American Residents: 10,179
Percent Change Since 2010: 27.49%
More on Brooklyn Center: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. Brooklyn Park

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 83,876
% African American: 29.73%
# Of African American Residents: 24,935
Percent Change Since 2010: 40.75%
More on Brooklyn Park: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Columbia Heights

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 22,155
% African American: 26.85%
# Of African American Residents: 5,948
Percent Change Since 2010: 109.81%
More on Columbia Heights: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. New Hope

Source: Flickr User DVS1mn | CC BY 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 21,181
% African American: 25.12%
# Of African American Residents: 5,321
Percent Change Since 2010: 178.73%
More on New Hope: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Hopkins

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 18,819
% African American: 20.85%
# Of African American Residents: 3,923
Percent Change Since 2010: 63.05%
More on Hopkins: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Fridley

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 30,241
% African American: 20.41%
# Of African American Residents: 6,172
Percent Change Since 2010: 126.33%
More on Fridley: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. St. Cloud

Source: Wikipedia User Elkman | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 70,629
% African American: 19.74%
# Of African American Residents: 13,944
Percent Change Since 2010: 205.86%
More on St. Cloud: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Minneapolis

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 427,246
% African American: 18.55%
# Of African American Residents: 79,251
Percent Change Since 2010: 15.59%
More on Minneapolis: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Faribault

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 24,631
% African American: 16.58%
# Of African American Residents: 4,083
Percent Change Since 2010: 193.11%
More on Faribault: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Minnesota 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 Minnesota.

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 Minnesota. That left us with 139 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 35.5% 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. Waite Park took the distinction of being the most Black, while New Prague was the least African American city.

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

Read on for more information on how the cities in Minnesota 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 Minnesota

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

The blackest cities in Minnesota are Waite Park, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Columbia Heights, New Hope, Hopkins, Fridley, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and Faribault.

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

New Prague
Redwood Falls
Baxter

For more Minnesota reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Minnesota

Rank	City	Population	African American Population	% African American
1	Waite Park	8,399	2,983	35.52%
2	Brooklyn Center	32,479	10,179	31.34%
3	Brooklyn Park	83,876	24,935	29.73%
4	Columbia Heights	22,155	5,948	26.85%
5	New Hope	21,181	5,321	25.12%
6	Hopkins	18,819	3,923	20.85%
7	Fridley	30,241	6,172	20.41%
8	St. Cloud	70,629	13,944	19.74%
9	Minneapolis	427,246	79,251	18.55%
10	Faribault	24,631	4,083	16.58%
11	St. Paul	307,284	48,284	15.71%
12	Robbinsdale	14,234	2,131	14.97%
13	New Brighton	22,710	3,148	13.86%
14	Crystal	22,476	3,065	13.64%
15	Burnsville	64,463	8,623	13.38%
16	Bloomington	88,665	10,645	12.01%
17	Eagan	68,000	7,796	11.46%
18	Apple Valley	55,679	6,051	10.87%
19	Richfield	36,642	3,917	10.69%
20	Maplewood	40,695	4,323	10.62%
21	Shakopee	46,012	4,657	10.12%
22	Blaine	72,488	7,292	10.06%
23	Savage	32,889	3,243	9.86%
24	Willmar	21,378	2,099	9.82%
25	Rochester	122,330	11,957	9.77%
26	Champlin	23,294	2,250	9.66%
27	St. Anthony	9,671	934	9.66%
28	Coon Rapids	63,468	6,071	9.57%
29	Oakdale	28,585	2,710	9.48%
30	North St. Paul	12,570	1,127	8.97%
31	St. Joseph	7,021	588	8.37%
32	Otsego	22,245	1,817	8.17%
33	Maple Grove	71,173	5,794	8.14%
34	Roseville	35,802	2,889	8.07%
35	St. Paul Park	5,457	440	8.06%
36	Anoka	17,970	1,420	7.9%
37	Woodbury	78,305	6,125	7.82%
38	Falcon Heights	5,085	394	7.75%
39	Ramsey	28,421	2,089	7.35%
40	Little Canada	10,514	772	7.34%
41	St. Peter	12,185	894	7.34%
42	Worthington	13,780	1,007	7.31%
43	Mankato	45,473	3,195	7.03%
44	Golden Valley	21,725	1,492	6.87%
45	Mounds View	12,926	860	6.65%
46	Lakeville	74,354	4,901	6.59%
47	Cottage Grove	40,992	2,513	6.13%
48	Moorhead	45,036	2,700	6.0%
49	Vadnais Heights	12,838	762	5.94%
50	Inver Grove Heights	35,906	2,109	5.87%
51	West St. Paul	21,382	1,247	5.83%
52	Eden Prairie	63,051	3,579	5.68%
53	South St. Paul	20,611	1,069	5.19%
54	St. Michael	20,010	1,028	5.14%
55	Austin	26,358	1,332	5.05%
56	Plymouth	79,220	3,912	4.94%
57	Elk River	26,793	1,258	4.7%
58	Spring Lake Park	7,032	329	4.68%
59	Marshall	13,896	649	4.67%
60	Sartell	19,758	905	4.58%
61	Andover	33,035	1,511	4.57%
62	St. Louis Park	49,594	2,251	4.54%
63	Owatonna	26,498	1,195	4.51%
64	North Mankato	14,211	639	4.5%
65	Big Lake	12,367	527	4.26%
66	Minnetonka	53,064	2,217	4.18%
67	Farmington	23,902	996	4.17%
68	Hugo	16,340	662	4.05%
69	East Grand Forks	9,028	346	3.83%
70	Shoreview	26,714	1,018	3.81%
71	Lino Lakes	22,113	838	3.79%
72	Belle Plaine	7,423	281	3.79%
73	Winona	26,009	935	3.59%
74	White Bear Lake	23,908	796	3.33%
75	Rogers	13,685	454	3.32%
76	Chaska	28,706	932	3.25%
77	Red Wing	16,758	534	3.19%
78	Rosemount	27,562	863	3.13%
79	Forest Lake	20,729	615	2.97%
80	Edina	53,262	1,565	2.94%
81	Duluth	87,093	2,368	2.72%
82	Arden Hills	9,658	259	2.68%
83	Albertville	8,207	208	2.53%
84	Albert Lea	18,330	427	2.33%
85	Jordan	6,771	155	2.29%
86	Lake Elmo	13,140	300	2.28%
87	Prior Lake	28,016	627	2.24%
88	Victoria	11,295	252	2.23%
89	Northfield	20,742	433	2.09%
90	Hibbing	16,057	315	1.96%
91	Bemidji	15,569	287	1.84%
92	Waseca	9,164	159	1.74%
93	Fergus Falls	14,181	244	1.72%
94	Hermantown	10,218	175	1.71%
95	Mound	9,107	153	1.68%
96	Morris	5,128	86	1.68%
97	Sauk Rapids	13,852	227	1.64%
98	Cambridge	10,307	166	1.61%
99	Grand Rapids	11,207	156	1.39%
100	Chanhassen	26,006	333	1.28%

The 10 Minnesota Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2026

The most African American cities in Minnesota are Waite Park and Brooklyn Center for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most African American Places In Minnesota

The 10 Blackest Cities In Minnesota For 2026

1. Waite Park

2. Brooklyn Center

3. Brooklyn Park

4. Columbia Heights

5. New Hope

6. Hopkins

7. Fridley

8. St. Cloud

9. Minneapolis

10. Faribault

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

Summary: Black Populations Across Minnesota

African American Population By City In Minnesota