African American Demographics and Buying Power

African American Buying Power - a 287% gain  The Selig Center’s estimates and projections of buying power for 1990-2007 were that  African American buying power will increase from $316.5 billion in 1990 to $852.8 billion in 2007, up 170% in that seventeen year range.  In March of 2006, Packaged Facts, released a study estimating that African American buying power would be at $981 billion by 2010. 

 

As with other minority markets, this target market will grow much faster than the white market, where buying power will increase by only 112%.

 

Reason for African American  buying power

African American buying power is partly attributable to increasing numbers of entrepreneurs.  The Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises,  released by the Census Bureau in 2001, shows that the number of African American owned firms increased about four times faster than the number of all other firms. 

 

Favorable demographic trends also help, as the African American population continues to grow more rapidly than the total population.  From 1990 to 2007, the nation's African American population is estimated to have had a 28.6% growth compared to 23.1% for the total population.

 

Family Size

African American families were larger than non-Hispanic Whites in 1999.  Among African American married couple families, they were more likely, at 20%, than their non-Hispanic White counterparts, at 12%, to have five or more members.

Educational Attainment

While the Census indicates that similar proportions of African American men and women who are 25 years of age and over are high school graduates, African American women are more likely to have completed  at a Bachelor's degree.

 

Population numbers -

This racial group’s shares of the population was at 13% of the total population in 1999.  According to March 1999 Census reports, most African Americans resided in the South, 55%, with 19% living in the Northeast, 18% in the Midwest and 8% in the West.

Age Distribution

The African American population is younger than the non-Hispanic White population.  In 1999, 33% of the population was under age 18, compared to 24% of the non-Hispanic White population.  A larger proportion of African American men, 26%, were under the age of 18, in contrast with 25% of Non=Hispanic White men, at  25%.

More African American women, 30%, were under the age of 18 than non-Hispanic White women, at 23%.