Census Bureau Facts for Features
A product of the U.S. Census Bureau's Public Information Office
CB98-FS.01 January 26, 1998 African-American History Month: February 1-28 Education In 1996, 74 percent of the nation's African Americans aged 25 and over had at least a high school diploma, while 14 percent had earned at least a bachelor's degree, up from 51 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in 1980. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-122.html About 75,000 African Americans aged 25 and over had doctorates, not statistically different from the number with professional degrees (e.g., an M.D. or a J.D.), in 1996. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-122.html About 4 in 10 African-American 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in nursery school in 1995, not different from the proportion for Whites. More than one-quarter of African Americans aged 18 to 24 attended college. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-80.html Income and Poverty In 1996, African-American households had a median income of $23,482, statistically unchanged from 1995. Meanwhile, per capita income for African Americans, adjusted for inflation, increased 5.2 percent from 1995 to 1996, to $11,899. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-162.html In 1996, the poverty rate for African Americans was 28.4 percent, unchanged from 1995. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-162.html Jobs In 1996, 16 percent of African-American men and 22 percent of African-American women aged 16 and over worked in managerial and professional specialty jobs (e.g., engineers, dentists, teachers, lawyers, and reporters). http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/race/black/tabs96/tab02-96.txt Population distribution On November 1, 1997, there were an estimated 34 million African Americans in the United States, comprising 12.7 percent of the total population. Since July 1, 1990, the African-American population has increased 11 percent, while the non-Hispanic White population increased 3 percent. http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-1.txt The African-American population is young, with an estimated median age on November 1, 1997 of 29.8 years nearly eight years younger than the median for the non-Hispanic White population. http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-1.txt According to middle-series population projections, the African-American population is expected to grow more than twice as fast as the White population between 1995 and 2050. After 2016, more African Americans than non-Hispanic Whites would be added to the U.S. population each year. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-176.html In 1996, 53 percent of African Americans lived in the South, comprising 19 percent of that region's population. Nationwide, 55 percent resided in the central cities of metro areas. http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/srh/srh96.txt http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/race/black/tabs96/tab03-96.txt Five states had more than 2 million African-American residents on July 1, 1996: New York (3.2 million), California (2.4 million), Texas (2.3 million), Florida (2.2 million) and Georgia (2.1 million). http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/srh/srh96.txt The ten counties with the most African-American residents on July 1, 1996 were: Cook, Ill. (1.4 million), Los Angeles, Calif. (1.0 million), Kings, N.Y. (900,000), Wayne, Mich. (900,000), Philadelphia, Pa. (600,000), Harris, Texas (600,000), Bronx, N.Y. (500,000), Queens, N.Y. (500,000), Dade, Fla. (400,000), and Baltimore city, Md. (400,000). http://eire.census.gov/popest/archives/county/co_casrh.php In 1997, 6 percent of Blacks (2.0 million) were foreign-born. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-55.html Families In 1996, there were 8.1 million African-American families, 46 percent of them married-couple families. The majority of African-American families (57 percent) had children. Families with children averaged two children apiece. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-110.html About 1 in 8 African-American children under 18 lived in the home of their grandparents in 1995, compared with 1 in 25 White children. About one-third of African-American children lived with both parents. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html Forty-one percent of African-American men and 37 percent of women aged 15 and over were married in 1996. http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/race/black/tabs96/tab04-96.txt Businesses The number of African American-owned businesses in the United States increased 46 percent, from 424,165 to 620,912 between 1987 and 1992. Receipts for these firms increased by 63 percent during the five-year span, from $19.8 billion to $32.2 billion. The total number of all the nation's firms increased 26 percent from 13.7 million in 1987 to 17.3 million in 1992. Their receipts grew 67 percent, from $2 trillion to $3 trillion. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-219.html Forty-four percent of African American-owned employer businesses reported that more than half their customers in 1992 were minorities. In contrast, 33 percent of Hispanic-owned employer firms, 26 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Alaska Native-owned employer firms, and 9 percent of employer firms owned by nonminority men reported a majority minority customer base. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb97-182.html The District of Columbia had the highest concentration of African American-owned firms in 1992 (29 percent of all firms), followed by Maryland and Mississippi (11 percent and 10 percent, respectively). http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-219.html Receipts per firm averaged $52,000 for African American-owned firms in 1992; receipts for all U.S. firms averaged $193,000. Fifty-six percent of African American firms had receipts of less than $10,000; more than 3,000 firms had sales of $1 million or more. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-219.html The preceding facts come from the Current Population Survey, population estimates and projections, the Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises and the Characteristics of Business Owners Survey. Data in this factsheet are subject to nonsampling errors. Some are also subject to sampling variability. See referenced sources for detailed limitations. Each month, the Census Bureau will provide previously released statistics pertaining to selected events or holidays occurring that month. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (Tel: 301-457-3030; Fax: 301-457-3670; E-mail: pio@census.gov).
