States with the Highest Political Engagement Among African Americans (2026)

The 2020 presidential election saw record voter turnout, but there was still a very noticeable gap in participation between white Americans (71%) and black Americans (63%). This year, black voters will account for around 14% of the national electorate, and if past election results are any indicator, their votes will skew heavily toward incumbent president Joe Biden.

Regardless of what candidates black voters choose to support, though, it’s clear that the African American population in some states are more politically engaged than those in other states. Identifying where on the map this demographic is most politically active — and therefore likely to maximize their electoral clout — helps to put this election year and racial-gap issues into context.

In honor of Black History Month and with presidential primaries in full swing, WalletHub compared 49 states across five key metrics that speak to the level of black political engagement. Our data set includes black voter turnout and registration during the most recent presidential and midterm elections as well as the proportional representation of black people in the House of Representatives.

“As the 2024 election grows closer, it’s important to make sure that everyone who wants to exercise their right to vote is able to do so. There is a historical gap between white and black voter turnout, but some states have done a much better job than others of raising black political engagement to levels comparable with that of white residents.”

Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst

Main Findings

Black Voter Turnout (2020 Presidential Election)

Best

• 1. Maryland
• 2. Mississippi
• 3. New Jersey
• 4. Pennsylvania
• 5. Rhode Island

Worst

• 45. South Dakota
• 46. Utah
• 47. North Dakota
• T-48. Vermont
• T-48. New Hampshire

Best State vs. Worst State: 4x Difference

Maryland vs. New Hampshire

Black Voter Turnout (2022 Midterm Elections)

Best

• 1. Michigan
• 2. Kansas
• 3. Pennsylvania
• 4. New Mexico
• 5. Georgia

Worst

• 44. Nebraska
• 45. Rhode Island
• 46. West Virginia
• 47. North Dakota
• 48. South Dakota

Best State vs. Worst State: 10x Difference

Michigan vs. South Dakota

Black Voter Registration (2020 Presidential Election)

Highest

• 1. Hawaii
• 2. Mississippi
• 3. Maryland
• 4. Arizona
• 5. New Jersey

Lowest

• 45. South Dakota
• 46. Utah
• 47. North Dakota
• T-48. Vermont
• T-48. New Hampshire

Best State vs. Worst State: 4x Difference

Hawaii vs. New Hampshire

Black Voter Registration (2022 Midterm Elections)

Highest

• 1. New Hampshire
• 2. Michigan
• 3. Maryland
• 4. Virginia
• 5. Connecticut

Lowest

• 45. Iowa
• 46. Utah
• T-47. Vermont
• T-47. Wyoming
• T-47. South Dakota

Best State vs. Worst State: 2x Difference

New Hampshire vs. South Dakota

% of Black Legislative Representatives per Black Population

Highest

• T-1. Utah
• T-1. Rhode Island
• T-1. Delaware
• T-1. Colorado
• T-1. Nevada

Lowest

• T-30. Alaska
• T-30. Arizona
• T-30. Arkansas
• T-30. Hawaii
• T-30. Iowa

Show More

In-Depth Look at the States With the Highest Political Engagement Among African Americans

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is the state with the highest political engagement among African Americans, in large part because the percentage of PA members of the House of Representatives who are black is greater than the overall percentage of the state’s population that is black.

In addition, Pennsylvania has a track record of strong turnout among black voters. For example, during the 2020 presidential election, nearly 71% of eligible black voters actually went to the polls, much higher than the national average of 63%. Even during the 2022 midterm elections, Pennsylvania still had one of the highest black voter turnout rates in the country, at nearly 60%.

Missouri

The state with the second-highest political engagement among African Americans is Missouri. Instead of being underrepresented in the U.S. House of Representatives, like in most states, black voters are overrepresented. This gives them a more powerful political voice.

Missouri also has above-average voter turnout rates for black voters, with around 69% of eligible people voting in the 2020 presidential election and 51% voting in the 2022 midterm elections.

Maryland

Maryland, one of the only states to ever have a black governor, the incumbent Wes Moore, ranks as the state with the third-highest political engagement among African Americans. Maryland ranks as having the best black voter turnout during the 2020 presidential election, with over 75% of those eligible having gone to the polls. It had one of the best turnouts for the 2022 midterms, too, at around 54%.

Part of the reason why Maryland has such a great voter turnout among African Americans is that there is robust voter registration. Maryland ranks as the third-best state for black voter registration in the 2020 and 2022 elections.

Red States vs. Blue States

Political Engagement vs. Voter Eligibility

Ask the Experts

Even during years of record turnout, black voter participation lags behind that of white Americans. In order to understand the reasons behind the low turnout and to find solutions to voting roadblocks for racial minorities, we turned to a panel of experts. Click on the experts’ profiles to read their bios and thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What accounts for low levels of voter turnout among African Americans?
2. Do voter-ID laws disproportionately affect voter turnout for black people relative to other groups?
3. Why are black people and other minorities underrepresented in political office? For example, there are currently only four African American senators and there have only been five black governors in U.S. history.
4. What strategies have proven effective in increasing voter participation and civic engagement among African Americans?

Ask the Experts

Steven Greene
Department of Political Science – North Carolina State University
Read More

Calvin Jillson
Professor, Department of Political Science – Southern Methodist University and Author of Race, Ethnicity, and American Decline
Read More

Emily Stacey
Ph.D. – Professor of Political Science, Political Science Coordinator – Rose State College
Read More

Dr. Suzanne M. Chod
Professor of Political Science and Coordinator, Gender and Sexuality Studies – North Central College
Read More

Methodology

In order to determine where black Americans are most politically engaged, WalletHub compared 49 states across five key metrics. Idaho was not included in the sample due to data limitations. The metrics are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was given a value between 0 and 100, wherein 100 is the best value for that metric and 0 is the worst.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

• Black Voter Turnout (2020 Presidential Election): Double Weight (~25.00 Points)
• Black Voter Turnout (2022 Midterm Elections): Double Weight (~25.00 Points)
• Black Voter Registration (2020 Presidential Election): Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
• Black Voter Registration (2022 Midterm Elections): Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
• Proportional Representation of Black People in House of Representatives (measures the percentage of black representatives per black population): Double Weight (~25.00 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected as of January 17, 2024 from the U.S. Census Bureau and United States House of Representatives.

Supporting Video Files:

• YouTube (for web embedding)
• Raw video files (for editing into clips)