Every few decades, America reshuffles the deck
Cities rise, people move, and history quietly repeats itself with a slightly different soundtrack
Between 2020 and 2024, a quiet migration began. Millions of black Americans left the big metros that once defined black culture, music, and business
Some headed south again, chasing affordability and opportunity. Others just wanted an apartment that didn't take up three quarters of their paycheck
What's interesting about this migration, these weren't the slow growth backwater towns you'd expect
We're talking New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the big cities. These were the same cities that once promised opportunity, but now offer high rent, low trust, and homeless on every corner
Today we're looking at the top 20 metro areas according to the U.S. Census numbers that were released in June of 2025
Let me know in the comments section if you were surprised by any of these
Alright, let's take a look. Number 20, San Diego, California. San Diego has sun, surf, and a housing market that laughs at
the concept of affordability. That's why so many people are leaving. It's not just the black
population here. The average home value is about $981,000, which is a number that will always get
people looking at a trailer and the Arizona Outback. Historically, black residents lived
around southeastern San Diego and National City, forming tight-knit communities after World War II
That lasted for about 20 years when gentrification hit the turbo button. It's not that San Diego
isn't beautiful or it lacks jobs. It's just that beauty comes with HOA fees and a side of
sorry, we already rented that one. From 2020 through 2024, San Diego's black population dropped by 1%
19. Detroit, Michigan. Detroit's always been synonymous with black resilience. Motown, auto jobs, and homeownership were once the norm. But population decline, disinvestment
and the high property taxes keep pushing people out. This has been going on for decades, so
it's no surprise. Other racial demographics left in the 80s and 90s. Even though Detroit is kind
of making a little bit of a turnaround, they're still losing a lot of their black population
Between 2020 through 2024, they lost 1.6% of their population. Number 18, St. Peterburg Metro Area, Florida
St. Pete once had a vibrant black neighborhood called the Deuces, a hub of jazz, food, and businesses during segregation
Gentrification bulldozed most of it, replaced by breweries, bike lanes, and condos shaped like IKEA furniture
Locals call it progress, but for longtime black families, it meant moving inland where you could still afford air conditioning and groceries in the same month
Now, there's been a trickle out of St. Pete's for a long time with the black community
In the last four years, it's kind of picked up some steam. From 2010 to 2020, they had only lost 1.2% of their black population
In the last four years, they've lost 1.8%. Number 17, Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland's black community grew during the Great Migration, filling up neighborhoods like Glenville and Huff
When the steel industry collapsed, so did the local economy. Now, there's a little history with the black community in Cleveland
The Huff uprising, also known as the Huff riots, occurred in the summer of 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio
It is said to have been the result of a dispute on 79th and Huff Avenue
Whatever the case, days of vandalism, looting, arson, and gun violence stemming from years of racial tension and discrimination against Black residents resulted
The 2020s brought new problems. Housing costs creeping up, schools still struggling, and jobs that pay like it's 1975
Many Black residents are moving south to Charlotte, Atlanta, and Columbus. Places that at least pretend to be growing
From 2020 to 2024, Cleveland lost 1.8% of its black population. Number 16, Miami, Florida
South Florida's black population has long included both African Americans and a huge Caribbean population
But now, rents have exploded, insurance costs are astronomical, and commuting is a full-time job
Gentrification is eating through Liberty City and Overtown, like termites in a wooden mansion
Families are moving inland to Orlando, Jacksonville, or even Georgia, just to breathe
If you were to break it down just by some of the historically black neighborhoods
and Caribbean neighborhoods in Miami, the number is higher. What's interesting about Liberty City is climate change is affecting the value of flood-prone real estate in Miami
Miami neighborhoods with higher elevation, such as Liberty City, are experiencing increasing real estate values
By 2017, Liberty City, along with Little Haiti, started becoming more attractive to investors
which of course, just again, puts the gentrification on turbocharge. From 2020 to 2024 Miami lost 1 of its black population 15 Albany Georgia
Albany has deep roots in the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself led protests
here in the early 1960s. Back then, the city was a flashpoint for racial justice
Today, the local economy has been struggling. Jobs are thin and infrastructure looks like it's stopped trying
somewhere between 1987 and good enough. When hospitals close and factories turn into empty parking lots
it's not hard to see why people head to Atlanta or Florida. Albany still got soul, but it's tired
The good news is the crime has been getting lower and houses are still affordable
The average home value here is about $125,000. If you want one of those, you better bring a job because they don't have any
As a matter of fact, the local job fair was canceled due to lack of interest and jobs
The drop in Albany's black population has been 1.9%. 14. St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis was once a powerhouse of black culture. Chuck Berry, The Ville, and generations of teachers, nurses, and small business owners
Then came the white flight, job loss, and urban decay. Today, the metro area is still bleeding residents
Some moved to nearby counties, others farther away, and some just disappear
Nobody knows where they went. The black population loss isn't about rejection
It's about exhaustion here. They've lost 2% of their population from 2020 to 2024
Number 13, Shreveport, Louisiana. Shreveport once had a strong black middle class tied to oil, manufacturing, and gambling
Then the layoffs came, plant closures and rising crime. What's left are churches, memories, and a lot of for sale signs
Many families have moved to Texas, where jobs are better and taxes don't come with a side of regret
I've been to Shreveport maybe three times in the last 20 years
Not to stay, usually just going through. I'm not an expert, but every time I went there, the place looked pretty depressing with a whole lot of empty storefronts
Like I said before, most of the time, anyone going to Shreveport is because they've got a court date
Shreveport has lost 2.1% of their black population. Number 12, Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson's a tough story. It's the blackest capital city in America, and it's also one of the most neglected
Water crisis, crumbling infrastructure, and decades of political gridlock have turned daily life into a test of endurance
And not the test of endurance where you might drink Gatorade. This one's really an endurance test of your depression levels
It's one of those places where you wake up in the morning and think, why am I still here? Many black families, even those with deep roots here, are packing for the suburbs like Madison and Ridgeland
Or leaving Mississippi altogether, which in reality isn't a bad idea. You can't rebuild a city when the pipes keep breaking and hope is in short supply
Jackson has lost 2.1% of their black population. Number 11, Monroe, Louisiana
Once a proud cotton paper town, Monroe is now the unofficial mascot of struggling small metros
It's the kind of place where you can still buy a house for a price of a used Toyota
But there's a reason for that. Crime, poverty, and weak healthcare access have all driven families
north to Shreveport or west to Texas, which, like we already learned, Shreveport isn't that good of
a choice. As long as they don't go to Jackson, I think they'll be all right. The black community
here dates back to the Reconstruction, but decades of disinvestment have made leaving a survival
strategy not a choice. The average home here goes for about $147,000. Again, you better bring a job
and a fake ankle monitor so you could fit in with the locals. They have a lot of people here on parole
like one of the highest rates in the nation. Monroe has lost 2.2% of their black population
Number 10, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee's black population boomed after World War II
as families moved from Mississippi and Arkansas to factory jobs. And that was a major migration back during World War II
A lot of them went west, like California also, where the wartime jobs were
The South back then didn't have any jobs. Well, they did, but not like Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee area, and again, California
Like I always tell people that, you know, people from California are leaving and going to other states for better opportunities
Then they act like it's a big bad thing. Well, you know, your ancestors or your grandparents probably did the same thing
They left the South and filled up these states and these cities
The Midwest, too. A lot of those families left for California because they couldn't make it during the Great Depression and during wartime because they had to go where the jobs were for a better life and survival
All these people leaving California because they can't survive. Well, it's a pendulum. It's going to swing back the other way and everyone's going to start heading to California in like 20 years
I mean California is gaining again but not like it once was Anyway so black Americans came from the South to places like Milwaukee looking for factory jobs Then the factories closed
The city began dealing with segregation, high incarceration, and stubborn unemployment rates ever since
Between 2020 and 2024, thousands moved to nearby suburbs or even down the Sun Belt
where jobs and warmer winters make the trade-off worthwhile. Milwaukee has lost 2.3% of their black population over the last four years
Number nine, Vallejo, California. Up in the San Francisco Bay Area, you have a town
called Vallejo and a police department that can't seem to stop getting bad pressed. Honestly
every time I hear anything about this town, it's because the police did something weird or illegal
or they're being investigated by someone. Vallejo used to be one of the most diverse cities in
America, with black families moving there after World War II for Navy jobs. When the Navy left
the jobs did too. What's left? High rents, Bay Area commutes, and a town that flirts with bankruptcy
every few years. Probably because they got to pay out so many settlements for the police department
I don't know, I'm just guessing. The black middle class has been squeezed out here. Many heading to
Sacramento, Tracy, or South. Vallejo still has heart, but the paychecks can't keep up with the
rent. This has always been a middle-class city, and you just can't afford the Bay Area if you're
in the middle class these days. Vallejo lost 3.3% of their population between 2020 and 2024
Number eight, Chicago. Now, this one includes Naperville and Elgin, so keep that in mind
For generations, Chicago was the destination during the Great Migration. Bronzeville thrived with black business and culture
Then came the deindustrialization, disinvestment, and sky-high crime. That sky-high crime still goes on to this day in Southside Chicago and a few other neighborhoods
The exodus continues. Families move to the suburbs, the South, or anywhere safer and cheaper
The irony? It's the South that people fled 70 years ago is now where many of them are returning to
Maybe not them, but definitely their grandparents or something like that. That's how these black communities grew in places like Detroit and Chicago
Chicago is a beautiful city in certain parts. If you go to the south side or some of the place on the west side, it's pretty ugly
And it's still terribly expensive almost everywhere, even in the bad neighborhoods
I watched an interview where they were talking to a Chicago cop who'd grown up on the south side of Chicago
He said the house he grew up in and a lot of the ones on his block were supposed to be temporary buildings during the Great Depression and World War II
He said he grew up there in the late 80s and 90s. From 2020 through 2024, Chicago lost 3.3% of their black population
Number seven, Los Angeles. Now, Los Angeles is huge and it has a lot of suburbs
I grew up in one of them. My suburb, which was the Torrance and Redondo area, was for the most part Hispanic and Irish
That's how that whole area got started. It was all strawberry fields and back in the 1920s and 30s who were working the fields back then, the Hispanics and the Irish
We didn't have very much of a black population. But other neighborhoods like Long Beach, Compton, Wilmington, and South Central had very large black communities
Black Los Angeles wants to find West Coast cool. Watts, Crenshaw, Leimert Park
But waves of gentrification and astronomical living costs have squeezed out longtime residents
Many are heading east to Las Vegas, Phoenix, or Texas, where a mortgage doesn't require divine intervention and a lottery ticket
LA's weather is perfect, but you can't pay rent with sunshine, right
In a lot of situations, black communities are shrinking because of jobs
They don't have any work, so they go places for work. In Los Angeles, it's just the cost of living and housing
It's far too expensive for anyone that happens to be a blue-collar worker or living in the middle class
From 2020 through 2024, Los Angeles lost 3.6% of its black population
Number six, New York metro area. So this includes Newark, New Jersey also
So just a river and a bridge separates them. The biggest loss in raw numbers. Harlem, Brooklyn, and Newark were once heartbeats of Black America
Now they're playgrounds for hedge fund interns. Sky-high rants, aggressive gentrification, and post-pandemic migration have sent over 140,000 Black residents packing. Many landed in the
Carolinas, Georgia, or Florida. Ironically again, heading back to the very states their grandparents
left. This isn't the end of Black America's urban story. It's just a reroute. What started
as the Great Migration North is now turning south again. Places like Atlanta, Houston, and Charlotte
are booming with black professionals, entrepreneurs, and families looking for stability and a better
community. The message is simple. Cities that once offered opportunity have priced it out
And as history loves to prove, people will always follow the promise of a better life
even if it means packing a U and leaving the skyline behind you The New York metro area lost 3 of its black population over those four years Number five Oakland metro area Now this one kind of weird even though it in the same
metro area as Vallejo from earlier in San Francisco, which is coming up. Oakland's its own metro area
which includes Fremont and Berkeley. Oakland was once the beating heart of black power
the Black Panther Party's birthplace, a city of activism, music, and industry
But when tech money flooded, the Bay Area longtime residents got priced out
Black families that built Oakland's identity have been pushed to Antioch, Stockton
or out of the state entirely. Oakland's soul is still there, but it's now surrounded by $6 coffee and $3,000 rent
The Oakland metro area lost 5.1% of its black population. Number four, San Francisco. In this report by the census, the San Francisco metro area included
San Francisco, Daily City, San Bruno, Pacifica, San Mateo, and Redwood City. Everything below that
Palo Alto, Mountain View, is part of the San Jose metro area. Myself, I've considered that whole
area, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, one big metro area. They don't see it that way. Anyway
the region once had a thriving black middle class. Now it's more like a gated museum with
tech workers and security guards. Affordability gone. Cultural identity hanging by a thread
Most former residents have found cheaper cities like Sacramento and other places across the
country and even on to Texas. The San Francisco metro area has lost 5.2% of their black population
Number three, New Orleans, Louisiana. Katrina in 2005 was a demographic earthquake
and the aftershocks still haven't stopped. Black residents who lost homes never came back
Many built new lives in Houston and Dallas. Even now, New Orleans struggles with insurance hikes
crime and disappearing affordable housing. The city's charm is undeniable. I mean, the food is outrageously good
There's always a party there. There's a good time to be had in New Orleans
Almost always. But you can't live on charm and a good party when rent is late
New Orleans has lost 5.2% of their black population. Number two, Youngstown, Ohio
This also includes war in Ohio. Once a beacon for black families during the Great Migration
Youngstown was where the promise of a factory job and homeownership came with every steel paycheck
East side thrived, churches overflowed, and the community felt grounded in stability
But then the mills closed. On Black Monday in 1977, the dream cracked
The steel never came back, and neither did the prosperity that fueled it
From 2020 to 2024, the Youngstown Warren metro area lost a good portion of their black population
The reasons are clear. Jobs are scarce, schools underperform, and neighborhoods are littered with empty homes that used to buzz with life
For many young black residents, staying means stagnation, while leaving offers opportunity
This isn't about giving up. It's about moving forward. The same determination that once brought families north is now driving them south again
towards, again, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Houston, places where hope still feels like a reasonable investment
Youngstown's story is a reminder that when the work dries up, the people who built the city eventually follow the opportunity elsewhere
Youngstown has lost 6.5% of their black population. All right, before we get to number one, if you've enjoyed this video
give it a big thumbs up. Tell me what you thought in the comment section. And at the end of this video, there'll be two suggested videos for you
One is the whitest states in the United States. And the next is the blackest states
All right, on to number one. And number one, Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles might hold the title of the hardest hit. Hurricanes, refinery explosions, and post-COVID hangover
left this Gulf Coast city battered. The black community here has always been tight-knit
descendants of laborers who built the industrial south. But even strong roots can't survive repeated storms and weak recovery aid
Many residents have fled north to Baton Rouge and Houston, chasing stability and a working power grid for the most part
Yeah, Lake Charles has been beat up by Mother Nature over the decades
And even though they don't have a lot of jobs and they've got a lot of poverty, but the weather is what's damaging this city the most, in my opinion
Every time they seem to recover from a hurricane, they gave it with another one or at least a serious tropical storm with a lot of flooding
Lake Charles, Louisiana lost 9.1% of their black population from 2020 through 2024
All right, that's today's video. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Hope you got some information of it. Now go out, have a great day, be nice to each other