Data / Rankings / Black or African American population share / Counties in Massachusetts

Counties in Massachusetts by black or African American population share

Suffolk County had the highest black or African American population share of 14 counties in 2021, at 19.1%. Franklin County had the lowest, at 1.1%. The median was 4.5% and the figure for Massachusetts was 6.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest19.1Suffolk County
Lowest1.1Franklin County
Median4.514 counties
Massachusetts6.7History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Suffolk CountySuffolk County: 19.1 %19.1Plymouth CountyPlymouth County: 8.9 %8.9Nantucket CountyNantucket County: 8.2 %8.2Hampden CountyHampden County: 7.7 %7.7Norfolk CountyNorfolk County: 6.8 %6.8Middlesex CountyMiddlesex County: 4.9 %4.9Worcester CountyWorcester County: 4.7 %4.7Dukes CountyDukes County: 4.4 %4.4Bristol CountyBristol County: 3.7 %3.7Essex CountyEssex County: 3.3 %3.3Barnstable CountyBarnstable County: 2.9 %2.9Berkshire CountyBerkshire County: 2.5 %2.5Hampshire CountyHampshire County: 2.4 %2.4Franklin CountyFranklin County: 1.1 %1.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Suffolk County19.1
2Plymouth County8.9
3Nantucket County8.2
4Hampden County7.7
5Norfolk County6.8
6Middlesex County4.9
7Worcester County4.7
8Dukes County4.4
9Bristol County3.7
10Essex County3.3
11Barnstable County2.9
12Berkshire County2.5
13Hampshire County2.4
14Franklin County1.1

Other periods

About this ranking

People who are not Hispanic or Latino and report Black or African American as their only race, as a percentage of the total population. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

US federal statistics ask about Hispanic origin and race separately, and Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race. The shares for White, Black and Asian count people who are not Hispanic and report that race alone, so the published shares do not add up to 100 (people of two or more races and other races are not shown). Calculated from counts in ACS table B03002, which are stored as inputs. EU and Spanish statistics do not collect race.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B03002: Black or African American alone, not Hispanic or Latino, as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b03002.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

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Rank Counties in Massachusetts by black or African American population share using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"black_share","level":"province","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=black_share&level=province&within=Massachusetts&limit=10

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Questions

Which county has the highest black or African American population share?

Suffolk County, with 19.1% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest black or African American population share?

Franklin County, with 1.1% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B03002: Black or African American alone, not Hispanic or Latino, as a percentage of the total population, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Black or African American population share: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings