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

Counties in Virginia by black or African American population share

Petersburg city had the highest black or African American population share of 133 counties in 2021, at 75.9%. Highland County had the lowest, at 0%. The median was 12.9% and the figure for Virginia was 18.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest75.9Petersburg city
Lowest0Highland County
Median12.9133 counties
Virginia18.7History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Petersburg cityPetersburg city: 75.9 %75.9Emporia cityEmporia city: 63.5 %63.5Sussex CountySussex County: 55.9 %55.9Brunswick CountyBrunswick County: 55 %55Greensville CountyGreensville County: 54.5 %54.5Franklin cityFranklin city: 53.3 %53.3Portsmouth cityPortsmouth city: 51.8 %51.8Danville cityDanville city: 48.9 %48.9Hampton cityHampton city: 48.4 %48.4Richmond cityRichmond city: 45 %45Martinsville cityMartinsville city: 44.4 %44.4Charles City CountyCharles City County: 44.2 %44.2Surry CountySurry County: 43.2 %43.2Hopewell cityHopewell city: 43.1 %43.1Suffolk citySuffolk city: 40.7 %40.7Newport News cityNewport News city: 40.2 %40.2Norfolk cityNorfolk city: 40.1 %40.1Nottoway CountyNottoway County: 39.6 %39.6Essex CountyEssex County: 38.2 %38.2Halifax CountyHalifax County: 35 %35Mecklenburg CountyMecklenburg County: 33.9 %33.9Lunenburg CountyLunenburg County: 33.3 %33.3Buckingham CountyBuckingham County: 32.6 %32.6Northampton CountyNorthampton County: 31.9 %31.9Southampton CountySouthampton County: 31.6 %31.6Dinwiddie CountyDinwiddie County: 31.5 %31.5Prince Edward CountyPrince Edward County: 31 %31Prince George CountyPrince George County: 30 %30Cumberland CountyCumberland County: 30 %30Henrico CountyHenrico County: 29.4 %29.4Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 29.1 %29.1Chesapeake cityChesapeake city: 28.8 %28.8Roanoke cityRoanoke city: 28.6 %28.6Accomack CountyAccomack County: 28.5 %28.5Lynchburg cityLynchburg city: 28.2 %28.2Richmond CountyRichmond County: 27.1 %27.1Charlotte CountyCharlotte County: 26.7 %26.7Westmoreland CountyWestmoreland County: 25.5 %25.5Caroline CountyCaroline County: 25.5 %25.5King and Queen CountyKing and Queen County: 24.2 %24.2
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Petersburg city75.9
2Emporia city63.5
3Sussex County55.9
4Brunswick County55
5Greensville County54.5
6Franklin city53.3
7Portsmouth city51.8
8Danville city48.9
9Hampton city48.4
10Richmond city45
11Martinsville city44.4
12Charles City County44.2
13Surry County43.2
14Hopewell city43.1
15Suffolk city40.7
16Newport News city40.2
17Norfolk city40.1
18Nottoway County39.6
19Essex County38.2
20Halifax County35
21Mecklenburg County33.9
22Lunenburg County33.3
23Buckingham County32.6
24Northampton County31.9
25Southampton County31.6
26Dinwiddie County31.5
27Prince Edward County31
28Prince George County30
29Cumberland County30
30Henrico County29.4
31Lancaster County29.1
32Chesapeake city28.8
33Roanoke city28.6
34Accomack County28.5
35Lynchburg city28.2
36Richmond County27.1
37Charlotte County26.7
38Westmoreland County25.5
39Caroline County25.5
40King and Queen County24.2
41Chesterfield County22.9
42Henry County22.7
43Isle of Wight County22.2
44Amelia County22
45Northumberland County21.7
46Alexandria city21.1
47Prince William County20.3
48Fredericksburg city20
49Pittsylvania County19.8
50Amherst County18.5
51Virginia Beach city18.3
52Appomattox County18.1
53Stafford County18
54Charlottesville city17.9
55King George County16.5
56Colonial Heights city16.2
57Spotsylvania County16.1
58Williamsburg city15.6
59Goochland County15.2
60King William County15.1
61Middlesex County14.6
62Fluvanna County14.4
63Campbell County14.2
64Louisa County13.7
65Manassas Park city13.5
66York County13
67Culpeper County12.9
68New Kent County12.7
69Manassas city12.6
70Orange County12.6
71James City County12.5
72Nelson County12.3
73Covington city11.9
74Waynesboro city10.9
75Staunton city10.9
76Fairfax County9.5
77Winchester city9.5
78Mathews County9.4
79Arlington County9.1
80Radford city9.1
81Powhatan County9.1
82Albemarle County8.7
83Gloucester County8.6
84Hanover County8.4
85Franklin County7.7
86Buena Vista city7.5
87Madison County7.4
88Loudoun County7.3
89Salem city7.1
90Fauquier County6.8
91Harrisonburg city6.6
92Greene County6.2
93Bedford County6.2
94Bristol city6
95Roanoke County5.8
96Patrick County5.7
97Alleghany County5.6
98Wise County5.4
99Fairfax city5.4
100Lexington city5.3
101Pulaski County4.9
102Clarke County4.8
103Grayson County4.7
104Bland County4.5
104Falls Church city4.5
106Warren County4.5
107Augusta County4.3
108Galax city4.2
109Montgomery County4.1
110Rappahannock County4
111Frederick County3.9
112Lee County3.7
113Bath County3.7
114Rockbridge County3.4
115Tazewell County3.4
116Floyd County2.8
117Botetourt County2.6
118Norton city2.4
119Rockingham County2.3
120Buchanan County2.3
121Wythe County2.1
122Smyth County2
123Giles County1.9
124Shenandoah County1.8
125Washington County1.6
126Russell County1.5
127Poquoson city1.5
128Page County1.2
129Scott County0.9
130Dickenson County0.9
131Carroll County0.4
132Craig County0
133Highland County0

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 Virginia by black or African American population share using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Petersburg city, with 75.9% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Highland County, with 0% 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 Virginia: more rankings