Most African American cities in Mississippi research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to analyze Mississippi’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 Mississippi is Yazoo City (88.6% Black); the least is Ocean Springs (7.4%). Statewide, Mississippi is 36.3% Black — the 1st 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 Mississippi, the Black population is 1,070,561, at 36.3% of the state total.
We broke down the most recent Census data to determine the cities in Mississippi with the largest African American population in 2026.
#1 most African American in Mississippi
Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as “Rivire des Yazous” in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river’s mouth. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Jackson-Yazoo City Combined Statistical Area. According to the 2010 census, the population was 11,403.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Washington County, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Rankin County, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital city and largest urban center of the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is the primary seat of Hinds County, equally sharing its county power with Raymond, Mississippi. The City of Jackson also owns more than 3,000 acres comprising Jackson-Medgar Evers International Airport in Rankin County. Jackson is on the Pearl River, which drains into the Gulf of Mexico, and it is part of the Jackson Prairie region of the state. The city is named after General Andrew Jackson, who was honored for his role in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 and later served as U.S. president.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Sunflower County, Mississippi
Indianola is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta. The population was 12,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sunflower County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Coahoma County, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States, and seat of the county.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#6 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Madison County, Mississippi
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Pike County, Mississippi
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Warren County, Mississippi
Vicksburg is the only city and county seat of Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is located 234 miles northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and 40 miles due west of Jackson, the state capital. It is located on the Mississippi River across from the state of Louisiana.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Marshall County, Mississippi
Holly Springs is a city in and county seat of Marshall County, Mississippi, United States at the border with southern Tennessee.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 most African American in Mississippi
Located in
Hinds County, Mississippi
Byram is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,489 as of the 2010 census, up from 7,386 at the 2000 census, at which time it was an unincorporated census-designated place. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated for a second time in its history on June 16, 2009.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Mississippi’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Mississippi’s Black communities live
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Mississippi 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 Mississippi.
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 Mississippi. That left us with 59 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 88.6% to 7.4%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the Black population, with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. Yazoo City took the distinction of being the most Black, while Ocean Springs was the least African American city.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the cities in Mississippi with the largest African American population.
The full plate
African American Population By City In Mississippi
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | African American Population | % African American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yazoo City | 10,219 | 9,050 | 88.6% |
| 2 | Greenville | 28,166 | 23,213 | 82.4% |
| 3 | Jackson | 146,631 | 119,812 | 81.7% |
| 4 | Indianola | 9,062 | 7,382 | 81.5% |
| 5 | Clarksdale | 14,231 | 11,507 | 80.9% |
| 6 | Canton | 10,811 | 8,061 | 74.6% |
| 7 | McComb | 12,049 | 8,681 | 72.0% |
| 8 | Vicksburg | 20,589 | 14,799 | 71.9% |
| 9 | Holly Springs | 6,704 | 4,797 | 71.6% |
| 10 | Byram | 12,799 | 9,113 | 71.2% |
| 11 | Greenwood | 14,086 | 9,826 | 69.8% |
| 12 | Moss Point | 11,957 | 8,211 | 68.7% |
| 13 | West Point | 9,900 | 6,658 | 67.3% |
| 14 | Columbus | 23,348 | 15,029 | 64.4% |
| 15 | Natchez | 14,192 | 8,833 | 62.2% |
| 16 | Laurel | 17,679 | 10,846 | 61.3% |
| 17 | Louisville | 5,983 | 3,608 | 60.3% |
| 18 | Meridian | 34,137 | 20,371 | 59.7% |
| 19 | Kosciusko | 6,933 | 4,070 | 58.7% |
| 20 | Grenada | 12,375 | 7,167 | 57.9% |
| 21 | Batesville | 7,387 | 4,106 | 55.6% |
| 22 | Brookhaven | 11,650 | 6,441 | 55.3% |
| 23 | Philadelphia | 6,996 | 3,610 | 51.6% |
| 24 | Cleveland | 10,623 | 5,414 | 51.0% |
| 25 | Hattiesburg | 48,619 | 24,555 | 50.5% |
| 26 | Horn Lake | 26,647 | 13,311 | 50.0% |
| 27 | Ridgeland | 24,587 | 11,399 | 46.4% |
| 28 | Clinton | 27,195 | 11,716 | 43.1% |
| 29 | Senatobia | 8,380 | 3,379 | 40.3% |
| 30 | Southaven | 56,226 | 22,111 | 39.3% |
| 31 | Picayune | 11,900 | 4,584 | 38.5% |
| 32 | Tupelo | 37,791 | 14,279 | 37.8% |
| 33 | Gulfport | 73,003 | 27,253 | 37.3% |
| 34 | Forest | 5,357 | 1,997 | 37.3% |
| 35 | Starkville | 25,721 | 9,263 | 36.0% |
| 36 | Columbia | 6,632 | 2,376 | 35.8% |
| 37 | Olive Branch | 47,019 | 16,787 | 35.7% |
| 38 | Pascagoula | 21,710 | 7,401 | 34.1% |
| 39 | Gautier | 19,046 | 5,617 | 29.5% |
| 40 | Pearl | 27,737 | 8,072 | 29.1% |
| 41 | Amory | 6,500 | 1,819 | 28.0% |
| 42 | New Albany | 7,663 | 2,089 | 27.3% |
| 43 | Brandon | 25,542 | 6,921 | 27.1% |
| 44 | Oxford | 26,411 | 6,734 | 25.5% |
| 45 | Pontotoc | 5,806 | 1,331 | 22.9% |
| 46 | Booneville | 9,246 | 1,970 | 21.3% |
| 47 | Corinth | 14,323 | 2,798 | 19.5% |
| 48 | D’Iberville | 13,203 | 2,526 | 19.1% |
| 49 | Biloxi | 48,861 | 9,001 | 18.4% |
| 50 | Flowood | 10,587 | 1,805 | 17.0% |
| 51 | Ripley | 5,377 | 882 | 16.4% |
| 52 | Petal | 11,294 | 1,823 | 16.1% |
| 53 | Richland | 7,346 | 1,156 | 15.7% |
| 54 | Hernando | 17,949 | 2,609 | 14.5% |
| 55 | Bay St. Louis | 10,188 | 1,399 | 13.7% |
| 56 | Madison | 27,946 | 3,561 | 12.7% |
| 57 | Waveland | 7,062 | 844 | 12.0% |
| 58 | Long Beach | 17,009 | 1,725 | 10.1% |
| 59 | Ocean Springs | 18,646 | 1,384 | 7.4% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 59 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Black Populations Across Mississippi
If you’re looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Mississippi according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.
The blackest cities in Mississippi are Yazoo City, Greenville, Jackson, Indianola, Clarksdale, Canton, McComb, Vicksburg, Holly Springs, and Byram. Not sold on Mississippi? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
