Washington Cities With The Largest Black Population [2026]

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

The city with the largest African American population in Washington is SeaTac based on the most recent Census data.
SeaTac is 24.37% Black.
The least African American city in Washington is North Bend.
North Bend is 0.0% Black.
Washington is 3.8% Black.
Washington is the 34th 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 Washington is 300,646 – at 3.8% of the total population of Washington.

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

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

Most African American Places In Washington

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

The 10 Blackest Cities In Washington For 2026

1. Seatac

Source: Wikipedia User SounderBruce from Seattle, United States | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 32,414
% African American: 24.37%
# Of African American Residents: 7,900
Percent Change Since 2010: 91.65%
More on Seatac: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Federal Way

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 99,493
% African American: 17.84%
# Of African American Residents: 17,751
Percent Change Since 2010: 135.58%
More on Federal Way: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. Tukwila

Source: Wikipedia User Joe Mabel | GFDL

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 21,451
% African American: 17.74%
# Of African American Residents: 3,806
Percent Change Since 2010: 38.75%
More on Tukwila: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Lakewood

Source: Wikipedia User Kgrr | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 62,937
% African American: 13.34%
# Of African American Residents: 8,398
Percent Change Since 2010: 13.5%
More on Lakewood: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Fife

Source: Wikipedia User SounderBruce | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 10,949
% African American: 13.33%
# Of African American Residents: 1,459
Percent Change Since 2010: 63.38%
More on Fife: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Kent

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 135,603
% African American: 12.73%
# Of African American Residents: 17,266
Percent Change Since 2010: 85.48%
More on Kent: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Des Moines

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 32,823
% African American: 12.69%
# Of African American Residents: 4,164
Percent Change Since 2010: 27.61%
More on Des Moines: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Lynnwood

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 40,110
% African American: 10.05%
# Of African American Residents: 4,031
Percent Change Since 2010: 100.35%
More on Lynnwood: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Tacoma

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR 2 | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 222,758
% African American: 9.29%
# Of African American Residents: 20,698
Percent Change Since 2010: -6.01%
More on Tacoma: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. Renton

Source: Wikipedia User Westernyankee | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 105,317
% African American: 9.0%
# Of African American Residents: 9,477
Percent Change Since 2010: 7.23%
More on Renton: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Washington 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 Washington.

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 6,000 people in Washington. That left us with 115 cities.

We then calculated the percentage of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 24.4% 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. SeaTac took the distinction of being the most Black, while North Bend was the least African American city.

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

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

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

The blackest cities in Washington are SeaTac, Federal Way, Tukwila, Lakewood, Fife, Kent, Des Moines, Lynnwood, Tacoma, and Renton.

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

North Bend
Prosser
Stanwood

For more Washington reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Washington

Rank	City	Population	African American Population	% African American
1	Seatac	32,414	7,900	24.37%
2	Federal Way	99,493	17,751	17.84%
3	Tukwila	21,451	3,806	17.74%
4	Lakewood	62,937	8,398	13.34%
5	Fife	10,949	1,459	13.33%
6	Kent	135,603	17,266	12.73%
7	Des Moines	32,823	4,164	12.69%
8	Lynnwood	40,110	4,031	10.05%
9	Tacoma	222,758	20,698	9.29%
10	Renton	105,317	9,477	9.0%
11	Covington	21,233	1,716	8.08%
12	Burien	51,513	3,914	7.6%
13	University Place	34,911	2,495	7.15%
14	Brier	6,545	448	6.84%
15	Pacific	7,066	473	6.69%
16	Shoreline	61,431	4,061	6.61%
17	Auburn	85,676	5,621	6.56%
18	Seattle	754,195	48,376	6.41%
19	Everett	111,845	6,802	6.08%
20	Airway Heights	11,245	677	6.02%
21	Lacey	57,737	3,320	5.75%
22	Fircrest	7,069	398	5.63%
23	Lake Forest Park	13,335	690	5.17%
24	Yelm	11,102	530	4.77%
25	Tumwater	26,956	1,240	4.6%
26	Dupont	9,931	451	4.54%
27	Steilacoom	6,686	294	4.4%
28	Mountlake Terrace	23,104	970	4.2%
29	Oak Harbor	24,362	958	3.93%
30	Milton	8,894	342	3.85%
31	Puyallup	42,746	1,591	3.72%
32	Newcastle	12,989	459	3.53%
33	Marysville	73,002	2,460	3.37%
34	Mill Creek	20,956	674	3.22%
35	Monroe	19,755	628	3.18%
36	Vancouver	195,300	6,124	3.14%
37	Bremerton	44,830	1,399	3.12%
38	Edgewood	13,032	387	2.97%
39	Kenmore	23,741	673	2.83%
40	Spokane	230,293	6,361	2.76%
41	Olympia	55,951	1,528	2.73%
42	Moses Lake	26,083	693	2.66%
43	Bellevue	151,847	3,915	2.58%
44	Lake Stevens	40,253	1,010	2.51%
45	Walla Walla	33,925	807	2.38%
46	Clarkston	7,191	165	2.29%
47	Poulsbo	12,165	275	2.26%
48	Edmonds	42,735	962	2.25%
49	Kennewick	85,295	1,914	2.24%
50	Issaquah	39,591	887	2.24%
51	Redmond	77,353	1,707	2.21%
52	Bonney Lake	22,090	476	2.15%
53	Ellensburg	20,874	431	2.06%
54	Sequim	8,161	160	1.96%
55	Kelso	12,684	246	1.94%
56	Pasco	79,575	1,468	1.84%
57	Kirkland	92,621	1,651	1.78%
58	Mukilteo	21,323	380	1.78%
59	Burlington	10,003	165	1.65%
60	Pullman	32,229	511	1.59%
61	Maple Valley	28,287	443	1.57%
62	Woodinville	13,438	209	1.56%
63	Orting	8,978	131	1.46%
64	Arlington	21,095	296	1.4%
65	Camas	27,007	374	1.38%
66	Mount Vernon	35,377	479	1.35%
67	Sammamish	66,463	885	1.33%
68	Bellingham	93,438	1,212	1.3%
69	Port Orchard	17,149	220	1.28%
70	Aberdeen	17,088	218	1.28%
71	Spokane Valley	106,365	1,345	1.26%
72	Normandy Park	6,659	83	1.25%
73	Centralia	18,830	206	1.09%
74	Cheney	12,804	135	1.05%
75	Richland	62,753	656	1.05%
76	Chehalis	7,587	75	0.99%
77	Yakima	96,961	956	0.99%
78	Port Angeles	20,118	187	0.93%
79	Snohomish	10,239	94	0.92%
80	Woodland	6,487	58	0.89%
81	College Place	9,854	85	0.86%
82	Mercer Island	25,307	216	0.85%
83	Battle Ground	21,886	176	0.8%
84	Bothell	49,610	393	0.79%
85	West Richland	17,586	131	0.74%
86	Gig Harbor	12,424	92	0.74%
87	East Wenatchee	14,199	96	0.68%
88	Snoqualmie	13,798	88	0.64%
89	Longview	38,069	227	0.6%
90	Duvall	8,526	50	0.59%
91	Ferndale	15,999	89	0.56%
92	Quincy	7,998	43	0.54%
93	Port Townsend	10,438	56	0.54%
94	Anacortes	17,966	95	0.53%
95	Wenatchee	35,484	186	0.52%
96	Liberty Lake	12,737	64	0.5%
97	Enumclaw	12,798	61	0.48%
98	Ephrata	8,560	40	0.47%
99	Washougal	17,490	76	0.43%
100	Sumner	10,733	44	0.41%

The 10 Washington Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2026

The most African American cities in Washington are SeaTac and Federal Way for 2026 based on Saturday Night Science.

Most African American Places In Washington

The 10 Blackest Cities In Washington For 2026

1. Seatac

2. Federal Way

3. Tukwila

4. Lakewood

5. Fife

6. Kent

7. Des Moines

8. Lynnwood

9. Tacoma

10. Renton

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

Summary: Black Populations Across Washington

African American Population By City In Washington