Free Blacks as a percentage of the total Black (African-American) population by U.S. region and U.S. state between 1790 and 1860

State/territory/
Population Percent		 17901800181018201830184018501860 
United States 7.9% 10.8% 13.5%13.2%13.7%13.4%11.9%11.0%
Northeast 40.1%56.2% 73.5%83.7%97.8%99.5%99.8%100.0%
Midwest 078.7%52.4% 38.0%37.7%34.4%35.5%37.6%
South 4.7%6.7%8.5%8.2%8.4%8.1%7.0%6.3%
West 00000097.9%99.4%
Alabama 04.4%2.2% 1.3%1.3%0.8%0.7%0.6%
Alaska --------
Arizona -------100.0%
Arkansas 001.4%3.5%3.0%2.3%1.3%0.1%
California ------100.0%100.0%
Colorado --1.4%3.5%3.0%2.3%1.3%0.1%
Connecticut 50.4%84.9%95.4%98.8%99.7%99.8%100.0%100.0%
Delaware 30.5%57.3%75.9%74.2%82.8%86.7%88.8%91.7%
District of Columbia -16.2%30.7%37.9%50.5%66.2%73.2%77.8%
Florida ----5.2%3.1%2.3%1.5%
Georgia 1.3%1.7%1.7%1.2%1.1%1.0%0.8%0.8%
Hawaii --------
Idaho --------
Illinois -41.5%78.5%33.3%68.7%91.6%100.0%100.0%
Indiana -75.7%62.4%86.6%99.9%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Iowa -----91.5%100.0%100.0%
Kansas -------99.7%
Kentucky 0.9%1.8%2.1%2.1%2.9%3.9%4.5%4.5%
Louisiana --8.0%13.2%13.2%13.1%6.7%5.3%
Maine 100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%99.8%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Maryland 7.2%15.6%23.3%27.0%33.9%40.9%45.3%49.1%
Massachusetts 100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Michigan -100.0%83.3%100.0%99.6%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Minnesota ------100.0%100.0%
Mississippi -5.0%1.2%1.4%0.8%0.7%0.3%0.2%
Missouri --17.4%3.3%2.2%2.6%2.9%3.0%
Montana --------
Nebraska -------81.7%
Nevada -------100.0%
New Hampshire 79.9%100.0%100.0%100.0%99.5%99.8%100.0%100.0%
New Jersey 19.5%26.2%42.0%62.2%89.0%96.9%99.0%99.9%
New Mexico ------100.0%100.0%
New York 17.9%33.3%62.8%74.4%99.8%100.0%100.0%100.0%
North Carolina 4.7%5.0%5.7%6.7%7.4%8.5%8.7%8.4%
North Dakota --------
Ohio -100.0%100.0%100.0%99.9%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Oklahoma --------
Oregon ------100.0%100.0%
Pennsylvania 63.6%89.5%96.6%99.3%98.9%99.9%100.0%100.0%
Rhode Island 78.2%89.7%97.1%98.7%99.5%99.8%100.0%100.0%
South Carolina 1.7%2.1%2.3%2.6%2.4%2.5%2.3%2.4%
South Dakota --------
Tennessee 9.6%2.2%2.9%3.3%3.1%2.9%2.6%2.6%
Texas ------0.7%0.2%
Utah ------48.0%50.8%
Vermont 100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%100.0%
Virginia 4.1%5.6%7.3%8.2%9.3%10.1%10.2%10.5%
Washington ------100.0%100.0%
West Virginia 11.6%6.8%10.5%8.5%10.9%14.1%13.1%13.1%
Wisconsin ---100.0%51.6%94.4%100.0%100.0%
Wyoming --------

a^ There were no Blacks at all—either free or enslaved—in South Dakota in 1860.[29]

African–Americans as percentage of total population (1790–2020) by U.S. state[26][27][28][29]
State/territory 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
 United States 19.3% 18.9% 19.0% 18.4% 18.1% 16.8% 15.7% 14.1% 12.7% 13.1% 11.9% 11.6% 10.7% 9.9% 9.7% 9.8% 10.0% 10.5% 11.1% 11.7% 12.1% 12.3% 12.6% 12.4%
Northeast 3.4% 3.2% 2.9% 2.5% 2.3% 2.1% 1.7% 1.5% 1.5% 1.6% 1.6% 1.8% 1.9% 2.3% 3.3% 3.8% 5.1% 6.8% 8.9% 9.9% 11.0% 11.4% 11.8% 11.5%
Midwest 1.2% 2.4% 2.1% 2.6% 2.7% 2.5% 2.0% 2.1% 2.2% 1.9% 1.9% 1.8% 2.3% 3.3% 3.5% 5.0% 6.7% 8.1% 9.1% 9.6% 10.1% 10.4% 10.4%
South 35.2% 35.0% 36.7% 37.2% 37.9% 38.0% 37.3% 36.8% 36.0% 36.0% 33.8% 32.3% 29.8% 26.9% 24.7% 23.8% 21.7% 20.6% 19.1% 18.6% 18.5% 18.9% 19.2% 18.6%
West 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 0.9% 0.7% 0.7% 0.9% 1.0% 1.2% 2.9% 3.9% 4.9% 5.2% 5.4% 4.9% 4.8% 4.6%
Alabama  41.4% 29.0% 33.2% 38.5% 43.3% 44.7% 45.4% 47.7% 47.5% 44.8% 45.2% 42.5% 38.4% 35.7% 34.7% 32.0% 30.0% 26.2% 25.6% 25.3% 26.0% 26.2% 25.8%
Alaska  0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 3.0% 3.0% 3.4% 4.1% 3.5% 3.3% 3.0%
Arizona  0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 1.5% 1.5% 1.0% 2.4% 2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 3.3% 3.0% 2.8% 3.0% 3.1% 4.1% 4.7%
Arkansas  13.0% 11.7% 15.5% 20.9% 22.7% 25.6% 25.2% 26.3% 27.4% 28.0% 28.1% 27.0% 25.8% 24.8% 22.3% 21.8% 18.3% 16.3% 15.9% 15.7% 15.4% 15.1%
California  1.0% 1.1% 0.8% 0.7% 0.9% 0.7% 0.9% 1.1% 1.4% 1.8% 4.4% 5.6% 7.0% 7.7% 7.4% 6.7% 6.2% 5.7%
Colorado  0.1% 1.1% 1.3% 1.5% 1.6% 1.4% 1.2% 1.1% 1.1% 1.5% 2.3% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0% 3.8% 4.0% 4.1%
Connecticut  2.3% 2.5% 2.6% 2.9% 2.7% 2.6% 2.1% 1.9% 1.8% 1.9% 1.6% 1.7% 1.4% 1.5% 1.8% 1.9% 2.7% 4.2% 6.0% 7.0% 8.3% 9.1% 10.1% 10.8%
Delaware  21.6% 22.4% 23.8% 24.0% 24.9% 25.0% 22.2% 19.3% 18.2% 18.0% 16.8% 16.6% 15.4% 13.6% 13.7% 13.5% 13.7% 13.6% 14.3% 16.1% 16.9% 19.2% 21.4% 22.1%
District of Columbia  30.4% 33.1% 31.2% 30.1% 29.1% 26.6% 19.1% 33.0% 33.6% 32.8% 31.1% 28.5% 25.1% 27.1% 28.2% 35.0% 53.9% 71.1% 70.3% 65.8% 60.0% 50.7% 41.4%
Florida  47.1% 48.7% 46.0% 44.6% 48.8% 47.0% 42.5% 43.7% 41.0% 34.0% 29.4% 27.1% 21.8% 17.8% 15.3% 13.8% 13.6% 14.6% 16.0% 15.1%
Georgia  35.9% 37.1% 42.5% 44.4% 42.6% 41.0% 42.4% 44.0% 46.0% 47.0% 46.7% 46.7% 45.1% 41.7% 36.8% 34.7% 30.9% 28.5% 25.9% 26.8% 27.0% 28.7% 30.5% 31.0%
Hawaii  0.2% 0.4% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.5% 0.8% 1.0% 1.8% 2.5% 1.8% 1.6% 1.6%
Idaho  0.4% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.6% 0.9%
Illinois  7.4% 6.4% 2.5% 1.5% 0.8% 0.6% 0.4% 1.1% 1.5% 1.5% 1.8% 1.9% 2.8% 4.3% 4.9% 7.4% 10.3% 12.8% 14.7% 14.8% 15.1% 14.5% 14.1%
Indiana  4.4% 2.6% 1.0% 1.1% 1.0% 1.1% 0.8% 1.5% 2.0% 2.1% 2.3% 2.2% 2.8% 3.5% 3.6% 4.4% 5.8% 6.9% 7.6% 7.8% 8.4% 9.1% 9.6%
Iowa  0.4% 0.2% 0.2% 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.9% 1.2% 1.4% 1.7% 2.1% 2.9% 4.1%
Kansas  0.6% 4.7% 4.3% 3.5% 3.5% 3.2% 3.3% 3.5% 3.6% 3.8% 4.2% 4.8% 5.3% 5.8% 5.7% 5.9% 5.7%
Kentucky  17.0% 18.6% 20.2% 22.9% 24.7% 24.3% 22.5% 20.4% 16.8% 16.5% 14.4% 13.3% 11.4% 9.8% 8.6% 7.5% 6.9% 7.1% 7.2% 7.1% 7.1% 7.3% 7.8% 8.0%
Louisiana  55.2% 51.8% 58.5% 55.0% 50.7% 49.5% 50.1% 51.5% 50.0% 47.1% 43.1% 38.9% 36.9% 35.9% 32.9% 31.9% 29.8% 29.4% 30.8% 32.5% 32.0% 31.4%
Maine  0.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 1.2% 1.9%
Maryland  34.7% 36.7% 38.2% 36.1% 34.9% 32.3% 28.3% 24.9% 22.5% 22.5% 20.7% 19.8% 17.9% 16.9% 16.9% 16.6% 16.5% 16.7% 17.8% 22.7% 24.9% 27.9% 29.4% 29.5%
Massachusetts  1.4% 1.5% 1.4% 1.3% 1.2% 1.2% 0.9% 0.8% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.1% 1.1% 1.2% 1.2% 1.3% 1.6% 2.2% 3.1% 3.9% 5.0% 5.4% 6.6% 7.0%
Michigan  3.7% 3.0% 2.1% 0.8% 0.3% 0.6% 0.9% 1.0% 0.9% 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 1.6% 3.5% 4.0% 6.9% 9.2% 11.2% 12.9% 13.9% 14.2% 14.2% 13.7%
Minnesota  0.6% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.7% 0.9% 1.3% 2.2% 3.5% 5.2% 7.0%
Mississippi  41.5% 47.0% 44.1% 48.4% 52.3% 51.2% 55.3% 53.7% 57.5% 57.6% 58.5% 56.2% 52.2% 50.2% 49.2% 45.3% 42.0% 36.8% 35.2% 35.6% 36.3% 37.0% 36.6%
Missouri  17.6% 15.9% 18.3% 15.6% 13.2% 10.0% 6.9% 6.7% 5.6% 5.2% 4.8% 5.2% 6.2% 6.5% 7.5% 9.0% 10.3% 10.5% 10.7% 11.2% 11.6% 11.4%
Montana  0.9% 0.9% 1.0% 0.6% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5%
Nebraska  0.3% 0.6% 0.5% 0.8% 0.6% 0.6% 1.0% 1.0% 1.1% 1.5% 2.1% 2.7% 3.1% 3.6% 4.0% 4.5% 4.9%
Nevada  0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.5% 0.3% 0.6% 0.4% 0.6% 0.6% 2.7% 4.7% 5.7% 6.4% 6.6% 6.8% 8.1% 9.8%
New Hampshire  0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.6% 0.7% 1.1% 1.5%
New Jersey  7.7% 8.0% 7.6% 7.2% 6.4% 5.8% 4.9% 3.8% 3.4% 3.4% 3.3% 3.7% 3.5% 3.7% 5.2% 5.5% 6.6% 8.5% 10.7% 12.6% 13.4% 13.6% 13.7% 13.1%
New Mexico  0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.8% 1.2% 0.8% 0.5% 1.6% 0.7% 0.9% 1.2% 1.8% 1.9% 1.8% 2.0% 1.9% 2.1% 2.2%
New York  7.6% 5.3% 4.2% 2.9% 2.3% 2.1% 1.6% 1.3% 1.2% 1.3% 1.2% 1.4% 1.5% 1.9% 3.3% 4.2% 6.2% 8.4% 11.9% 13.7% 15.9% 15.9% 15.9% 14.8%
North Carolina  26.8% 29.4% 32.2% 34.4% 35.9% 35.6% 36.4% 36.4% 36.6% 38.0% 34.7% 33.0% 31.6% 29.8% 29.0% 27.5% 25.8% 24.5% 22.2% 22.4% 22.0% 21.6% 21.5% 20.5%
North Dakota  1.0% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.4% 0.4% 0.6% 0.6% 1.2% 3.4%
Ohio  0.5% 0.8% 0.8% 1.0% 1.1% 1.3% 1.6% 2.4% 2.5% 2.4% 2.3% 2.3% 3.2% 4.7% 4.9% 6.5% 8.1% 9.1% 10.0% 10.6% 11.5% 12.2% 12.5%
Oklahoma  8.4% 7.0% 8.3% 7.4% 7.2% 7.2% 6.5% 6.6% 6.7% 6.8% 7.4% 7.6% 7.4% 7.3%
Oregon  0.5% 0.2% 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.8% 1.0% 1.3% 1.4% 1.6% 1.6% 1.8% 2.0%
Pennsylvania  2.4% 2.7% 2.9% 2.9% 2.8% 2.8% 2.3% 2.0% 1.9% 2.0% 2.0% 2.5% 2.5% 3.3% 4.5% 4.7% 6.1% 7.5% 8.6% 8.8% 9.2% 10.0% 10.8% 10.9%
Rhode Island  6.3% 5.3% 4.8% 4.3% 3.7% 3.0% 2.5% 2.3% 2.3% 2.3% 2.1% 2.1% 1.8% 1.7% 1.4% 1.5% 1.8% 2.1% 2.7% 2.9% 3.9% 4.5% 5.7% 5.7%
South Carolina  43.7% 43.2% 48.4% 52.8% 55.6% 56.4% 58.9% 58.6% 58.9% 60.7% 59.8% 58.4% 55.2% 51.4% 45.6% 42.9% 38.8% 34.8% 30.5% 30.4% 29.8% 29.5% 27.9% 25.0%
South Dakota  0.0% 0.6% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.5% 0.6% 1.3% 2.0%
Tennessee  10.6% 13.2% 17.5% 19.6% 21.4% 22.7% 24.5% 25.5% 25.6% 26.1% 24.4% 23.8% 21.7% 19.3% 18.3% 17.4% 16.1% 16.5% 15.8% 15.8% 16.0% 16.4% 16.7% 15.8%
Texas  27.5% 30.3% 31.0% 24.7% 21.8% 20.4% 17.7% 15.9% 14.7% 14.4% 12.7% 12.4% 12.5% 12.0% 11.9% 11.5% 11.8% 12.2%
Utah  0.4% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.5% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 0.8% 1.1% 1.2%
Vermont  0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 0.5% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.5% 1.0% 1.4%
Virginia  43.4% 44.6% 47.1% 47.8% 47.9% 46.9% 45.0% 43.3% 41.9% 41.8% 38.4% 35.6% 32.6% 29.9% 26.8% 24.7% 22.1% 20.6% 18.5% 18.9% 18.8% 19.6% 19.4% 18.6%
Washington  12.7% 0.3% 0.9% 0.4% 0.4% 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 1.3% 1.7% 2.1% 2.6% 3.1% 3.2% 3.6% 4.0%
West Virginia 9.5% 9.8% 11.5% 12.1% 11.2% 9.6% 7.8% 5.6% 4.1% 4.2% 4.3% 4.5% 5.3% 5.9% 6.6% 6.2% 5.7% 4.8% 3.9% 3.3% 3.1% 3.2% 3.4% 3.7%
Wisconsin  1.2% 1.8% 0.6% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.4% 0.4% 0.8% 1.9% 2.9% 3.9% 5.0% 5.7% 6.3% 6.4%
Wyoming  2.0% 1.4% 1.5% 1.0% 1.5% 0.7% 0.6% 0.4% 0.9% 0.7% 0.8% 0.7% 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 0.9%
Puerto Rico  8.0% 12.4% 7.0%