Black Percentage of NYC Population Shrank Over Past Decade

Amid rapid growth of New York City’s population over the past decade, the percentage of Black people in the Big Apple shrank, according to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The number of people who identified as Black or African-American in the five boroughs rose by just 47,000 since 2010, the Census found. That came as the overall population jumped by a whopping 630,000, to a record 8.8 million.

The contrast was particularly sharp in Brooklyn, where the reported Black population actually dropped by 22,000 people as the borough grew about 9.2% total — adding about 230,000 residents and outpacing the other boroughs.

Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, decried the trend during an unrelated press conference.

“We can’t see the future of this city rise, and … hope decline for Black, brown, and poor New Yorkers,” he said in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. “I don’t want to see our city built up and displace Black folks who have been here for a long time.”

Asians were the group that saw the largest growth in Brooklyn — 43%. The borough’s white population grew 5%.

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